A Banished Beast
by Fareway
Summary: Continuation of Scauldron's Cove, but still an individual story. A deadly beast unknown to Hiccup and his friends haunts the village for Hiccup himself, wanting to retrieve its possession and feast on his blood. The teens try to find out what the thing is while Stoick and the village try to keep their heir safe from a creature that seems to be more of a threat than any other.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_The leaves fell from the tree branches, one by one piling up on the forest's floor. One boot and one metal leg shared a rhythmic pattern across the ground, each allowing the other to pass and let pass. The movement was slow, lifeless, controlled even; hypnotized as a servant. The body and mind had no choice but to approach the beast ahead. No fight had occurred because all will had been destroyed._

_The beast waited diligently for the boy's arrival, watching his every step as he came closer to his grasp. The wind began to pick up, pushing the young viking closer to the demon dragon before the beast itself began to reach out, the two tentacles on its neck extending toward the boy. Invisible forces pulled him in and the two needle-like tentacles inched their way to his neck, each taking a side, before diving into the flesh._

_A sharp pain pricked the boy's body, his eyes closed tight as he winced from the piercing. A small cry escaped his slightly trembling lips, wanting nothing more than to escape the beasts' clutches. He felt himself began to drain away, each part of his body shutting down and dying on him. As his breath began to hitch…_

* * *

Hiccup's eyes opened suddenly, his breath coming out in small, fast gasps before evening out; his heart beat slowing back down to the usual rate.

His body lied in a dead man's position; flat on his back, head and legs straight and his arms down at his side. Upon realizing this, Hiccup moved himself into a more comfortable, lively position; curling his legs up to his stomach and tucking his arms to his chest. He closed his eyes, trying to go back to sleep and possible have a better dream, but the sound of a coo opened his attention.

Toothless was standing next to his bed, his face at Hiccup's face. Hiccup sighed, knowing that it was probably morning, but smiled and reached his hand out to pet Toothless.

Getting up, he and his dragon went down stairs where his father was waiting with breakfast. Fish for Toothless and an assortment of fruits and vegetables for him and his dad; the variety of foods produced on Berk was beginning to flourish thanks to some trade from Trader Johann.

Hiccup took an apple, bit into it and headed for the door.

"Hiccup." Stoick said sternly, looking up from his meal. Hiccup stopped and closed his eyes, knowing very well what his father wanted. He turned around and sighed.

"Nothing has been working, dad, I don't see why I have to be a guinea pig and risk my life." He walked over to the table again and sat down with a huff. Stoick gave him the wooden bowl of medicine.

"It's not going to kill you, this stuff is common medicine. And until I see that bite mark on your neck go away we're not going to stop trying." Stoick replied. "Once we rule out this stuff, we'll try others."

"And what if the 'others' don't work too?" Hiccup challenged.

Stoick stared at him intently, "We'll keep trying. I don't know what's wrong, but those marks should have healed by now." He stated factually. He moved the bowl closer to him, and Hiccup took it and drank. The liquid came back up into his mouth, his cheeks filling up with it. The look on Hiccup's face probably matched that of his stomach, but the look on Stoick's face told him to suck it up and swallow. And he did, getting an unnerving chill travel up his back and his body shaking from disgust.

"It wasn't that bad." Stoick said, heading for the door.

Hiccup gagged, "You try it then." He said sarcastically.

* * *

Gobber was working in his forge when Stoick walked in, the chief baring a frown on his features. Gobber stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend.

"Tough morning?" Gobber asked.

"Hmmm, tough night." Stoick corrected, but otherwise agreed. "I can't seem to get to sleep as easily as I use to." He informed.

"Hiccup?" Gobber asked, though it was rhetorical between the two.

"Hiccup." Stoick sighed. "He keeps… crying out at night, not loud or like he's in pain. Its soft; whimpers, but I can still hear them." Stoick glanced over to his left, "He's still having nightmares."

"I would too, from what I've heard from the twins, that thing isn't no Screaming Death." Gobber stated.

"That's the thing; he hasn't talked to me about it." Stoick said sadly.

"I don't think he's talked to anyone about it." Gobber replied. "Just give him time, he'll pull through."

* * *

A pile of Bork's notes were dropped onto a table in the Great Hall, Fishlegs and Hiccup standing over them.

"Alright Fishlegs, you search this pile and see if you can find anything remotely similar to what me and the twins encountered. I'll look through this stack." Hiccup stated, earning a respectful nod from his friend.

"Got it," Fishlegs replied, picking up a book and skimming the lines. Hiccup also picked up a small paperback and looked through it. His eyes widened when he remembered the images drawn on the pages, those unsettling pictures of Bork's neighbors. He shivered and then flipped the page and skimmed through the writing.

"Well, well, well; look what we have here." Astrid said as she entered the Great Hall and walked up to Fishlegs and Hiccup. "Let me guess, you're trying to figure out what that thing is?"

"Any information would be good." Hiccup replied, only glancing up once from his reading.

"And you think it might be in Bork's notes?" she questioned.

"It's a start," Hiccup replied once more. Fishlegs put down the book he was reading and picked up some pieces of paper.

"You really think Bork ran into this creature?" Astrid asked, she didn't doubt Hiccup, she was just as curious as he was.

"I don't know,"

"Hiccup…" Fishlegs said, staring at one page, his eyes going back and forth through the text.

"What is it, did you find something?" Hiccup asked, getting closer and looking at the page himself.

"Yeah, listen to this. It's a journal page of some sort; it talks about Bork and some of his friends going out during the night and walking in the forest. One of his friends mysteriously disappeared, no sound was heard nor did they notice until they stopped and rested, finding out that they were one short in their group. They tried looking for their friend for weeks until they came upon a cave. Inside the cave they found him, wrapped up in some sort of white sticky substance that secured him in place." Fishlegs reads the text word for word,

_"We found Ol' Pete stuck to the damp, rocky wall; his face as white as the substance that kept him there. On his neck were two small puncture wounds, one on each side, like someone had shoved an extremely thing stick straight through his neck. He was dead, cold as the winter's snow and limp to the forces around us as falling rain. Strange enough, he almost looked like a ragdoll…_

_We tried to get him down, but his arm was stuck. The only option we saw was to chop it off and burry his body without the arm. Upon cutting him free, my eyes expected there to be blood, as there always is, whether dead or alive. But upon releasing him from the prison, his arm was dry. Nothing spilled out, nothing dripped. I shared a feared glance with my mates, looking down at a body that was sucked dry of all any blood. He was like a hollow suit of his former self…"_

Fishlegs and Hiccup shared a stare, Hiccup knowing very well that this was the creature they were looking for. The memory wasn't pleasant for Hiccup though.

"Was Ol' Pete awake when… that thing…?" Astrid didn't want to finish her question.

"…yeah, he was." Hiccup replied, knowing the answer because _he_ was when the creature was feeding on _him_.

"Okay, I've heard of many ways to die, but being awake while something sucks the life out of you is by far the worst." Fishlegs stated. Hiccup spoke up, wanting to change the subject.

"Does it say anything else, a name, habits…?"

"Uh…" Fishlegs searched through the other pages. "No, I don't see anything."

"We'll keep looking, I'm sure if Bork had that written down, and then he must have searched for more answers to his friend's death." Astrid reasoned.

"That's what I'm hopping." Hiccup agreed.

* * *

The light was still up in the sky, shining its rays down at the exit of the cave; a strong barrier between the creature and its food. It rested just behind the shadows, laying down on a flat rock as it listened. Many noises came from the village, but the creature was trying to home in on one particular. An unsuccessful attempt, it was too noisy during the day.

The thing crept up the wall and hung upside down from the ceiling, closing its eyes and waiting for nightfall. It had to feast on other, simpler animals to regenerate its strength and heal, but now that it was at full strength, it'd be able to hunt for its prized possession once more.

Come nightfall, it'd feast once more.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Alright, I expect this story to be quite long, hopefully 15 chapters at the most. I have a lot of things planned for these chapters!**

**Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

A sonic echo sounded from the sky, a black shadow flying on top of the ocean's waves, its owner just above it. Hiccup leaned further back on the saddle to give Toothless more speed as they soared straight towards the sea stacks. Diving to the right, they weaved in and out of the natural obstacles, twirling a bit while descending and then spreading out the wings to level off into a soft glide.

Looking up at the sky, the colors littering it were more than breathtaking. The setting sun cascaded pink, orange, a little bit of purple and then some blue across the horizon painting the clouds their color. Toothless loved this time of day, and so did Hiccup. As they stared in awe at the sight, the sun began to disappear below the horizon of the ocean.

"Come on Toothless, let's head back." Toothless agreed with his rider and the two started heading back towards the isle of Berk.

* * *

As the sun lifted away from the cave exit, black eyes opened.

* * *

The sun was fully set by the time Toothless and Hiccup made it back home. Landing in front of their house, Hiccup hopped off of Toothless and walked up towards the door. He reached his hand out to grab and open it when all of the sudden, Toothless perked up, and then started growling.

"Toothless?" Hiccup questioned, turning around to take a look at his companion. Toothless was staring off into the direction of Berk's forest, his eyes as slits and his ears flat against his head as he growled lowly, but throatily. A thought came to Hiccup and his heart skipped a beat.

"It's back…" he whispered before rushing inside and ushering Toothless to follow. He complied and joined his rider inside the house. Hiccup ran upstairs, skipping a step as he went; going right to the open window above his bed, he slammed it shut and took a piece of metal, bending it over and around to lock the hatch in place. He sat down on his bed, staring at the window's door. Toothless was still growling, looking around and sniffing, acting anxious and unnerved.

Hiccup lay down, bring the covers over his shoulder and closing his eyes, trying to ignore Toothless' antics and quickly fall asleep as to not experience anything he didn't want to. Toothless looked at him before heading over to his own bed and lying down; not daring to shut his eyes for a while now, he stayed up until practically everyone of Berk was back in their homes and fast asleep.

* * *

The half-moon was high in the sky, the clouds covering its silver glow. Hiccup was fast asleep in his bed, the tension from earlier lost to him as he dreamed the night away. Stoick, who had finally come home, was asleep down stairs, resting in his chair as he snored every once in a while. Toothless had finally gone to sleep as well, not hearing anything anymore and assuming the coast was clear.

But he was wrong…

Above them, on top of the roof, sat the creature; silently waiting until it heard the Night Fury's heart slow as it fell asleep. It narrowed its eyes, listening one last time before acting. It leaned its head closer to the wood and hissed, sending a soft echo down into the house.

Hiccup's body began to shiver and his muscles began to tense up. He eyes opened, waking from his sleep, but the rest of his body did not move. His breaths hitched out as he felt his skin heat up, though its coloration was turning pale. His veins began to show through his skin, his heart raced in his chest, and a horrible ringing sounded in his ears. He was paralyzed, unable to do anything to stop whatever was happening.

Toothless' ears perked up, his eyes quickly bursting open soon after. He lifted his head up and looked at the ceiling, growling lowly at it as he sensed a familiar and extremely unwelcomed guest. Hiccup's hitched breathing caught his attention, his eyes veering from the wooden ceiling to his little Hiccup's bed. Said viking was shivering, awake, and scared, but something was off. Toothless came closer to his rider and nudge his arm. His skin was hot, but pale and his veins were clearly seen through the skin. Toothless tilted his head, worried for his rider, and tried to nudge him again, but Hiccup didn't move.

Suddenly, the shivering stopped and Hiccup leaned up and got out of bed. Toothless watched his friend walk towards the stairs, down the stairs and then towards the front door. He was taken back, knowing very well that the creature was right outside. Toothless jumped down the steps and blocked Hiccup's way to the door, not knowing why his human would want to go out. Hiccup stopped and Toothless looked at his face, Looking at his face, seeing Hiccup's eyes open, but his pupils were very small and his expression showed only one emotion—fear. He cooed at Hiccup, trying to figure out what was wrong with his little human.

Another hiss sounded from above the house and Toothless glanced up. Then Hiccup started moving again and walked back upstairs towards his bed. Toothless followed and found him undoing the binding he had on the window. Toothless shrieked with fear and rushed over to him, biting down on his shirt and pulling him away. Toothless roared up at the ceiling, making sure he was loud and heard.

The creature narrowed its eyes and began to growl back, more than angry for the dragon's interference.

Toothless' loud roaring caused Stoick to wake up, jumping up out of his chair and immediately grabbing his sword he kept nearby. He looked around, expecting someone to be attacking before hearing Toothless' roars.

"Hiccup…" he whispered and ran upstairs, sword still in his hand.

The creature moved its head to the left, listening as the other viking in the house moved from its original resting spot to its prey's area.

Once reaching the top, Stoick found Hiccup laying on his bed facing the wrong way, stomach up, arms outs, and eyes wide open; Toothless was roaring at the ceiling and stomping his front paws down on the floor. Stoick looked at his son again and saw the state he was in.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted as he sat his sword down by the bed and tried to shake his son awake. Hiccup's eyes were in fact open, but his pupils were very small, his skin pale and hot, his veins… it was the one thing Stoick hated seeing the most.

"What in Odin's name is happening to you?!" He begged for an answer, kneeling down and holding onto Hiccups shoulders as his body began shivering.

The creature moved slowly away from its spot, closer to the edge of the roof top. Its desire for the boy's blood was ever growing, but its surreptitious place here on Berk was beginning to become quite the advantage. No one knew it was here, and it rather keep it that way… until things got dire. It spread its black leathery wings and took to the sky, leaving the village with an empty stomach.

Hiccup's eyes closed suddenly and his back arched upwards. A cry escaped his lips as his eyes got tighter. Stoick looked helpless, not knowing what to do, not knowing what was going on. All he could do was watch and pray Hiccup would return to normal.

Toothless sniffed the air, sensing the beast's departure and took it gratefully. He glimpsed over at Hiccup and saw his rider struggling in bed. He went over to him quickly and tried to nudge him, but nothing worked. He too could only watch as Hiccup fought for control before falling limp and passing out.

* * *

**A.N.**

**You guys must really love me, two chapters in one day! However, this chapter counts for tomorrow's update, so you all have to wait for Chapter 3 on Friday. Unless of course some or most of you read this tomorrow, then it really doesn't matter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Hiccup laid on a bed in Gothi's hut, Stoick bringing him there right after the events that occurred. His breaths were fast, as well as his heartbeat, and his muscles twitched every now and then. He was awake, though it looked like he was asleep with his eyes close and his face seemingly relaxed, shivering slightly under the blankets that covered him up to his navel. His shirt and wool jacket were off, showing his still pale skin and the veins that popped out. A hand touched his arm, staying there for only a second before gently moving over to his chest.

Gothi checked his temperature, and then checked his heartbeat. Both haven't changed since he came here. Gothi was the only one in the room with Hiccup at the time as Stoick left to get Gobber. She expected those two to come back at any moment, and she was right.

The door opened for Stoick to come in and following him, Gobber. As soon as things were set, they got to work.

* * *

Fishelgs was knee deep in reading one of Bork's book laid out in front of him on the table. His eyes were glued to its pages as he lazily ate the chicken leg he was having for breakfast.

Snotlout was glaring at Fishlegs, getting angrier by the minute of Fishlegs and his stupid book. He had no reason to be, but Fishlegs would annoy him no matter what the geek would do. Fishlegs was very proud of that fact.

"Will you stop rubbing your nose all over that book?! It's starting to annoy me!" Snotlout complained, but Fishlegs never lifted his gaze from the book.

"Why, because he's reading?" Astrid asked, crossing her arms and giving Snotlout a glare. She sat across from Snotlout and Fishlegs.

"No, because he's reading right beside me!" Snotlout retorted, pointed his hands at Fishlegs and giving a visual statement of the proximity.

"Aw, you poor baby." Astrid fake sympathized. Just then, Fishlegs' eyes got wide.

"I found it!" He exclaimed happily.

"Found what?" Snotlout asked irritably.

"More information on that creature, this book has it all! We need to find Hiccup!" Fishlegs replied.

* * *

The three teens flew across Berk heading for the Haddock house when Astrid noticed something down below.

"Hey," she began, puzzlement evident in her voice; "What's Toothless doing down there by Gothi's house?" Her acknowledgement led Fishlegs and Snotlout to take a look.

"That's weird." Fishlegs stated and they flew down to investigate.

Toothless was at the door, whining and sometimes roaring, scratching at the wood to be let in. As soon as he heard wings flapping towards the house, he turned around and growled; eyes as slits. The dragons landed by the house and the teens got off.

"Whoa there, Toothless, it's us." Astrid said, trying to reassure the upset Night Fury. She had absolutely no idea why he was acting this way.

Upon seeing the supposed threat as Hiccup's friends and the other dragons, Toothless calmed down and lowered his guard. He looked sadly at Astrid and started whining again; his eyes big ovals that seemed to be on the brink of tears.

Astrid walked up to him and took his chin in her hand, petting him on the head as she took great pity towards his depression-like state. Fishlegs walked up to the door and knocked on it, assuming that if Toothless was out here, then Hiccup must be inside.

The one to answer was none other than Gobber, who looked at the teens and then turned around to speak to the people inside.

"It's just the kids." He informed, then moving out of the way and gesturing them to come in. Astrid left Toothless' side and followed Snotlout and Fishelgs in; Toothless then raced over and tried to dash inside before…

"Ah no, Toothless, I told you before, you can't come in yet." Gobber said, blocking Toothless' way in. Toothless roared at Gobber.

"Don't talk to me like that." Gobber retorted and closed the door; Toothless proceeded to scratch in it in a statement of his frustration.

The kids gasped at the sight of their friend. Hiccup was in a much better state then he was earlier, but his skin was still pale. He lay on his back, head turned towards his father who sat on his left, his hand wrapped around Hiccup's. Gothi was working on what appeared to be some kind of medicine, scrapping off some of the black char that was on that Outcast, fake Night Fury plate.

"What happened…?" Astrid whispered, slowly approaching Hiccup as she brought her hand up to her mouth. Snotlout went beside Hiccup's bed, behind Stoick; his eyes darted to and fro from Hiccup and the chief. Fishlegs came closer, the book in his hand up at his chest, afraid to speak as the silence in the air was deafening.

"What happened, we don't know for sure, but I think that thing Hiccup and the twins ran into might have come back last night." Gobber informed, coming from the door and standing beside Gothi.

"That's what we came here to tell you, about the creature." Fishlegs spoke up. "I found one of Bork's books containing a lot about it."

"Bork knows of this thing?" Gobber asked.

"Yes, he even named it and has recorded vital information like all the other dragons." Fishlegs continued.

"_Like all the other dragons_, what do mean… this thing's a dragon?" stoick asked, clear disbelief in his tone.

"I'm not entirely sure myself sir, but Bork says it is." Fishlegs opened the book and flipped to the first page, reading its text. "Bork calls the creature a Banshee, the exiled dragon…

_The Banshee is a highly elusive creature that only comes out in the shadows of night. Its skeleton like body is deprived of any fat because of the soul reason that it doesn't eat meat or any vegetation, but blood of animals and more favorably humans._

_The Banshee is most recognizable by is horrid shriek, that of which it gets its name. The Banshee's scream can cause a human to fall unconscious in mere seconds, sounding high pitch with a rhythm like a heartbeat._

_Because the Banshee spends most of its time in caves, its eyes are blind and see only through sound. It is said that the Banshee can hear a heartbeat miles away, being able to differentiate each rhythmic pattern. Its unique sense of hearing has its limits as the Banshee is highly vulnerable against loud sounds and is one of few weaknesses the beast seems to have…_

"Bork states in here that the reason he hasn't placed the Banshee within the dragon classes is because he banished the beast from the Book of Dragons due to its sadistic habits and evil nature." Fishlegs finished.

"He banished it from the Book of Dragons, what does that mean?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know." Fishlegs replied.

"Banshee huh, well, looks like a few things match up." Gobber stated, scratching his chin as he thought.

"What matches up?" Snotlout asked.

"What Bork has written in that book and what this medicine book says." Gobber said, holding up a book in his hand. "I was reading it while Gothi and I were trying to find a cure for Hiccup when I stumbled upon a page that contained only one sentence. Here…

_If any survive an attack of the beast, wash their blood clean of the venom with a Loki tree's sap._"

"I'm confused, what exactly does that explain?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm saying that one, Bork can be crazy; two, he can also be observant; and three, the beast was controlling Hiccup last night to get him outside and take him away to feed." Gobber settled.

"So wait, the Banshee was controlling Hiccup… with his _blood_?" Astrid asked.

"No, the Banshee was controlling Hiccup through the venom that was in his blood." Fishlegs corrected.

"And the only reason the venom was distributed to Hiccup was when the Banshee fed on him." Gobber pointed to Hiccup's neck, the small puncture wounds that were now beginning to heal thanks to the cure Gothi was giving him. All three of the teens shivered from the thought.

"So what do we do?" Astrid asked. Fishlegs spoke up.

"If that comes back, it'll go after Hiccup; and from what I know about dragons, you don't mess with a mother and her babies, you don't mess with their territory, and you don't want to mess with a dragon's source of survival." He pointed out, counting with his finger. "The Banshee drinks blood, particularly human blood, and with this Banshee, its main source of survival is Hiccup."

"That _thing_ does not _own_ my son!" Stoick said firmly, standing up from where he sat. His silence was finally broken. "I don't care if it's a dragon or an endangered species, that… **Banshee** has to go!"

* * *

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

"Banshee?" Tuffnut said, repeated the name given to him from Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout. He and his sister were just informed of the creature they encountered with Hiccup. "Nah, I don't get it, doesn't have 'death' in it." Ruffnut and Tuffnut were sitting on their Zippleback's heads in the Academy, the sun rising up higher into the sky as the time closed in on noon.

Astrid rolled her eyes, "It doesn't have to; look, this is serious guys."

"Yeah, this is serious, you didn't see that thing; the way it looks at you…" Tuff said, thinking back to the last time he saw the Banshee.

"Listen up you mutton heads, Stoick just ordered a search and kill out on that thing. Now are you going to tell us where that cave is or do I have to use force?" Snotlout stated, coming forward and slapping his closed fist against his open palm. The twins looked at each other.

"Uh, we'd love to tell you, but…" Ruffnut started,

"We weren't exactly awake when it took us to its lair." Tuffnut finished.

"That's unnecessary anyway," A voice spoke from behind the group of teens. Turning around, they saw Stoick and Gobber coming into the Academy with Hiccup and Toothless. Gobber had a hand on Hiccup's back, guiding him as they followed Stoick; Hiccup's condition still ghosting him a little. Toothless was right beside Hiccup, following his every step and not letting him out of his sight. Stoick's had the exact same intentions.

"We're not here to know the exact location." Stoick continued, gesturing towards said dragon. "We're here to find out the general area you guys were being held."

"Oh, that's easy." Tuff stated, "It was in the forest region."

"The north part," Ruff added. Stoick nodded his head and narrowed his eyes; turning around, he faced Gobber.

"Send a search party to investigate the region; once they find the cave, contact me." He ordered and Gobber shook his head.

"Dad…" Hiccup said, his voice sounding weak and low.

"From now on, coming nightfall I want you indoors." Stoick commanded.

"But me and Toothless always go out for a flight during the night. He loves it dad, he's a _Night_ Fury." Hiccup argued.

"Until this matter is settled, you'll both just have to deal with it." Stoick stated firmly. With that, he and Gobber left the Academy, Hiccup and Toothless watching them leave. Astrid walked up to Hiccup.

"You're planning something aren't you?" she fathomed with her arms crossed at her chest.

"Look, I agree with my father about getting rid of the Banshee, but we can't defeat it if we don't know anything about it." Hiccup began to explain.

"What are you talking about, we've got that book." Snotlout tested him.

"That book only has so much; look at all we've learned from our own dragons that the Book of Dragons did have, or from what Bork didn't know. There's so much about dragons that we still don't understand, and we have to study and observe their behavior to learn more." Hiccup continued. "We're never going to get rid of the Banshee while flying in blind."

"So you're saying we have to go find it and study it?" Fishlegs asked.

"Exactly," Hiccup answered.

"Isn't that a little… I don't know, **dangerous**?" Fishlegs replied.

"Uh yeah it is," Tuff said, "So you can count us out." He stubbornly denied the challenge.

"Tuff, I need every one." Hiccup begged.

"Everyone but your father," Astrid stated, coming up beside Hiccup.

"My father can't find out that we're doing this; if he did, he'd probably feed me sleep medicine until this whole ordeal is over." Hiccup replied.

Astrid laughed, "Yeah, he would."

"So what do you say guys, you in?" Hiccup asked the group.

"I'm in," Astrid accepted.

"As much as I don't want to, I can't resist the study of a new dragon species; despite how scary it is." Fishlegs accepted as well.

"Yea, why not," Snotlout agreed.

They all looked at the twins and the twins stared back.

"Ruff, Tuff…?" Hiccup pleaded.

"Ah, fine." They gave in.

"Thank you; now let's go find us a Banshee." Hiccup said.

* * *

The dragons flew over the trees that made up Berk's forest, their riders looking through the branches to see if they could spot anything. The most they found were herds of boar, groups of Terrible Terrors, a wild dragon here and there, and evidently, more trees. The sun was beginning to creep ever so slowly towards the horizon, giving the group little more than an hour to find the Banshee before the Banshee found them.

Unfortunately for them, such a find would not come today, as the last hour was spent, they had to make their way back; and they did.

"Well that was quite an eventful day. Let's see, hmm, what did I see…? Oh I know, NOTHING!" Snotlout complained, yelling at Hiccup.

"Not entirely true, we saw some boar and…" Fishlegs began to irritate Snotlout.

"Shut up Fishlegs!" Snotlout snapped.

"Make me," Fishlegs retorted, challenging Snotlout.

"Enough you two, this isn't helping." Hiccup ordered.

"What are you guys even complaining about?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, be happy that we didn't find that thing." Tuffnut added.

"Hiccup…" Astrid asked; her and Stormfly flying closer to Toothless. "Are you okay?" Hiccup was staring intently down at the forest below.

"Hiccup…?" Astrid asked again, getting slightly concerned for him.

"There's a cave down there." Hiccup announced.

"We're not seriously going to go into a cave are we?" Snotlout asked.

"It's our best shot at finding the Banshee." Hiccup reasoned.

"But isn't it extremely dark in there?" Fishlegs asked, shaking a little from his fear of the dark.

"You'll be fine Fishlegs." Hiccup reassured.

"Uh, no you won't." Tuffnut stated nonchalantly.

"You're not helping, Tuffnut." Astrid replied.

"No, but I am speaking truthfully."

"Yeah, that Banshee is probably in there, and _I _am **not** going." Ruff joined in.

"Yeah, I'd rather live then die; I'm out of here."

"See ya." The twins and their Zippleback turned around, heading back to Berk. Hiccup reached his hand out to them as they left.

"Ruff, Tuff!" he shouted.

"Well that wasn't surprising." Astrid stated.

"They said they'd help." Hiccup spoke, mostly to himself, but Astrid overheard.

"You can't blame them; you know what they've been through." Astrid commented, but Hiccup just gave her a look.

"Oh right, sorry." She smiled sheepishly, but her apology was sincere.

The remaining four then flew down towards the cave; a figure within the trees watching them as they descended beyond its view point. It crept is way closer to them, their heat being seen through the black eyes.

Hiccup and Toothless walked into the cave first, followed by Astrid and Stormfly, then Snotlout and Hookfang. Fishlegs took his good ol' time in front of the entrance before Snotlout hollered back to him and the two exchanged some criticism. Fishlegs then, unwillingly, joined the others inside.

The Banshee smiled; its prey was far too curious for his own good, but it wasn't complaining. It crawled over to the entrance and walked inside, keeping its distance from the group ahead until the time was right.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**A.N.**

**I have so many plans for this story; it's going to knock all of your socks off! That is if you are wearing socks. I have a few more things for the Banshee, call it a natural improvement… hehe.**

**Sorry for not being able to update everyday guys. I have to take a break every now and then so that I don't run into a writer's block in some of the gaps I have yet to fill for this story. I have all of the major puzzle pieces for this story, just need to put them together in order.**

**Thanks for all of the reviews! And sorry for any typos I've missed.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

An echo emitted from within the cave as an amethyst light darted across the small space and blasted against a rock. The rock began to glow the same color and the cave was lit up in its glow.

The four teens walked in, Hiccup and Toothless leading. Hiccup glanced around, looking at the floor and the walls to see if he could recognize anything, but the aperture was bare of any memories.

"What are we looking for again, I mean besides the Banshee?" Snotlout asked.

"We're trying to find out if it's been here or not." Hiccup answered.

A shadow crawled across the wall far from the teens and their dragons.

"Oh, so what am I looking for exactly?" Snotlout pried some more. Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes.

Toothless became rigid and started sniffing around, his eyes narrowing and ears flattening against his head. His head zipped around to look behind him, then above and to the sides.

"Where looking for any white, sticky substances, like cocoons or something." Hiccup answered him again.

"Yeah, because that really helps;" Snotlout retorted. Toothless began growling and Stormfly, Hookfang, and Meatlug started to stir and become restless.

"Hey, what's wrong with them?" Snotlout questioned.

"Uh, guys, do you get the feeling that we're being watched?" Astrid asked, bringing her arms in to hug herself.

"Always," Fishlegs replied.

Hiccup looked back at Toothless, his heart started to beat faster as his saw his dragon staring angrily at the wall far away from them.

"Toothless…?" he walked over to him and hugged his head, looking into the darkness as well to see if he could spot anything. Toothless got lower to the ground, growling louder before roaring ahead. A hiss echoed out towards them, coming straight from the direction Toothless was roaring.

Fishlegs ran over behind Snotlout who ran over behind Astrid who ran over behind Hiccup, all of their eyes wide.

"Toothless, light." Hiccup ordered, pointing in the direction of the shadow on the wall. Instead of firing a plasma blast at a solitary rock, Toothless aimed it directly at the beast, making the thing jump off and land down in front of the group.

The amethyst glow lit up the room, giving the teens and the dragons a good look at what they were trying to find.

The Banshee stood on all fours, if you counted its claws on its wings as its hands, its chest moving up and down as it breathed. Its long, grey teeth that curled out from its jaw was the first thing the teens saw, the next being its black eyes that seemed to boar straight through them.

The Banshee's body had little fat on it, but considering the fact that it only drank blood, this wasn't surprising; however, it was still freaky. The thing looked like a walking skeleton with leathery skin still attached to its bones. It amazed Hiccup to know that a dragon didn't have scales or a reptilian body, but in fact represented more of a nocturnal rodent, an evil nocturnal rodent. The thing that scared Hiccup the most was the tentacles that protruded out from the Banshee's neck. Hiccup knew what they did, what the feeling was when they penetrated the skin, what their jobs were once connected to the blood stream. Hiccup could just feel his body getting numb from just thinking about it.

The Banshee narrowed its eyes, smiling almost, before letting out a hiss that sent shivers down each of the teen's spines. It didn't hurt their ears, but it did bother them.

Hiccup didn't react the way the Banshee had planned, the creature tilting its head with surprise at the fact that its venom was no longer present within the boy.

"What was that for, why did it do that?" Astrid asked, desperate for an answer, she looked at Hiccup, who shook his head with the same question as her, before glancing at Fishlegs.

"For once in my life, I have no idea." Fishlegs replied, shivering from head to toe.

"There's a surprise," Snotlout joked, but it went unnoticed.

Hiccup furrowed his eye brows before stepping forward with his hand out. Toothless looked at him as if he was crazy and the others weren't too far behind.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?!" Astrid half yelled.

"What, are you crazy?! You can't train that thing!" Snotlout half hollered.

"I have to try," Was all Hiccup said before setting his attention fully on the Banshee. He inched closer to it, getting further and further away from Toothless and the others, to which Toothless didn't like. He pounced forward, coming up just behind Hiccup before Hiccup stopped him with a simple hand gesture.

The Banshee narrowed its black eyes, staring at the hand that was in front of it. As Hiccup grew closer, the hand was inches from its face and its eyes grew bigger. Everyone took a breath, including Hiccup, his eyes never leaving the Banshee's.

What happened next was unthinkable. The Banshee closed its eyes and rested its snout against Hiccup's hand, cooing almost. Hiccup's body's tension disappeared and he let out a sigh of relief, the teens doing the same, looking at each other with smiles.

What happened next was in the blink of an eye; The Banshee's eyes whipping open as it retracted itself from Hiccup before lunging forward and pinning him down against the ground. A small gasp escaped his lips as the thing's tentacles dug themselves into his neck, only being able to draw little blood before Toothless' claws tore them away. The Banshee jumped out of the way before Toothless' plasma blast hit it, then jumping again as the other three dragons started firing their fire at it. It climbed the wall, hissing at them as it continued to dodge their blasts.

Astrid and Snotlout ran over to Hiccup, both taking an arm and picking him up off the ground.

"It… tricked me…" Hiccup gasped out, his eyes beginning to droop.

"Yeah it did! Let's get out of here!" Astrid shouted, bringing Hiccup up on Stormfly with her.

"…Toothless…" Hiccup weakly raised his arm out to his friend, but Toothless was too busy with the Banshee to hear him.

"Toothless come on!" Astrid yelled, but Toothless roared back, the dragons acting the same way as they did when Toothless' rival showed up. Stormfly, Hookfang and Meatlug turned around and flew out of the cave.

"No, what are they doing?!" Astrid questioned.

"…Toothless…!" Hiccup half whispered, half screamed as the cave that held is friend grew smaller and smaller as they flew away. Echoes of roars and screams could be heard from it.

"No!" Hiccup suddenly shouted, finding hidden energy to fight Astrid's grip on him. "We can't leave him!"

"Hiccup, I'm sorry…" Astrid struggled with him, trying to prevent his would be fatal fall off of the saddle. Hiccup's new found strength quickly left him as his limbs began to feel the cold numbness from the venom. He couldn't do anything as they flew back to the village.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Hey, don't think I'm done yet. I was originally continuing this chapter onto the next scene, but it was beginning to get too long and so I split it up into two chapters! The next chapter is already up, so what are you waiting for? Go read! The scene is a showdown!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Stoick stood with Gobber by the forge, the twins behind them as the other four teens flew down and landed in front of them. Stoick took no time in letting the teens talk.

"What in Thor's name were you all thinking! Going after the Banshee after what it had already done!" Stoick shouted with pure rage. The group looked at the twins, who grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry,"

"He was very intimidating." Tuffnut defended with his sister.

"And they call me guppylegs." Fishlegs whispered to himself.

Stoick was about to continue his rant before he noticed something wrong with Hiccup. For one thing, Toothless wasn't with him and the other, he was shivering, his eyes half open, and he looked short of breath.

"Hiccup?!" All of his rage was replaced by fatherly instinct and fear. Rushing over, he took Hiccup down off of Stormfly, with the help of Astrid, and sat him down on the ground; Gobber rushed over as well and examined him.

"Stoick it's the venom again." Gobber stated; leading Stoick's eyes to Hiccup's neck where the wound was reopened and now red again, a little trickle of blood dripping from it.

"You found the Banshee?" He asked, his rage coming back to him.

"Technically, it found us." Fishlegs replied. Suddenly, a hiss rang out from the night sky; a hiss the teens knew all too well now. Stoick looked to the sky before addressing the entire village.

"Every, inside NOW!"

"Stoick…" Gobber began.

"Gobber, take Hiccup and get him to the house!" Stoick handed his son over to his friend, who nodded and started running over before having to stop only footsteps away from the group.

On top of the Haddock house, perched on the roof, was the Banshee, body positioned for the perfect lunge. It roared, a mix of a shriek and a Bonenapper's mating call. Gobber backed up beside Stoick again.

"Gobber, get Hiccup into the forge!" Stoick commanded. As soon as Gobber made a run for the forge, the Banshee lunged at him.

"Thornado, NOW!" As soon as Stoick shouted said order, said Thunderdrum came around the corner of their house and roared a sonic blast right at the Banshee. The beast shrieked and dodged to the left, right over the teens and their dragons.

"Dragons everyone!" Astrid shouted, all five of the kids hopping onto their saddles and hovering up into the air with the Banshee. Stoick joined them as soon as Thornado landed beside his rider.

Gobber leaned Hiccup against the table in the forge, poking his head out to look up and see what was going down.

"Where's… Toothless?" Hiccup asked with a shaking voice. He stood up with most of his weight on the table. Gobber went over to him and helped him up, bringing his right arm across his back and curling it around his side.

"I don't know where he is, he never came back with you guys." Gobber replied.

Up in the sky, the Banshee roared at the line of dragons standing in its way. They roared back, Stormfly sending a wave of spikes towards it. The Banshee dodged, swooping down towards the houses as Thornado chased and blasted its sonic waves. The Banshee dove down in between the homes, swerving in and out as to avoid getting hit by the sound. Stoick and Thornado had to move up so as to not damage any of the houses.

The Banshee soared out from the obstacles of the wooden buildings and into the opening where Meatlug and Hookfang began to pursue. The Banshee spun upward, its wings flat against its body before shooting straight out and stopping its ascent. Its horrible scream was sent piercing through the air right at the two dragons and their riders.

Hookfang and Meatlug struggled with their altitude, their sensitivity to loud sounds causing their sight to go vertigo. Both dragons and riders began to fall, Meatlug spinning out of control.

"Meatlug, MEATLUG!" Fishlegs screamed as they missed the cliff side entirely and ended up splash landing in the ocean by the docks.

"Hookfang!" Snotlout screamed as he and his Monstrous Nightmare ended up crash landing onto the roofs of the houses.

The Banshee watched them go down, glee in its eyes as it chance of winning back its prey grew ever so quickly. It glanced over to the left before having to fly away from an oncoming green cloud, said cloud blowing up right where it used to be. Barf and Belch began following it, shooting more explosions it way.

"That's right, fly away you ugly beast!" Tuffnut shouted. The Banshee roared, whipping around and flying straight at them. Both the twins and their dragons stopped, screamed and began flying away.

"Take it back! Take it back!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Okay, I take it back! You're not ugly, you're beautiful! You're beautiful!" Tuff screamed.

Gobber watched from below, seeing how the Banshee was occupied at the moment.

"Come on Hiccup, we can make it to the Great Hall, you'll be safer there!" Gobber ushered him, running out of the forge and through the plaza.

The twins and their Zippleback dove down towards the houses, trying to get away from the Banshee that was right on their tail. The beast in question just about ready to spring forward and deliver a blow before its course was altered, again, by Thornado who shot out a sonic boom and Stormfly who shot more spikes at it. The Banshee delivered its own shriek, Stoick cupping his hands against his ears and Thornado's hovering position wavering. Astrid screamed from the pain and Stormfly matched it almost equally. The scream grew louder, higher in pitch then it once was. Thornado and Stormfly couldn't take the sound anymore and the two fell down to the ground below.

Gobber and Hiccup had to cover their ears as the scream echoed through the village. It was just a short run from the Great Hall now, before their ears met with the roar of the Banshee. Looking behind him, Gobber saw the Banshee racing down towards them. Hiccup fumbled a little as Gobber's helpful weight was taken away as the man stopped and took out a bola.

"Hiccup, get to the Great Hall!" Gobber yelled. Hiccup mustered enough strength to get up and start running as fast as he could. As Hiccup ran, the Banshee started changing its course to intercept him; that's when Gobber swung and then threw the bola up towards it.

The bola was caught by the Banshee's feet, wrapping around its legs as its momentum allowed it. The creature roared, spun around, and loosened the rope from its legs; then did the unthinkable and tossed it back down towards Gobber.

"Whoa—" Gobber said before the bola he swung came back and ensnared him.

"How did it do that?!" he yelled as he lay on the ground helpless.

The Banshee let out a series of hisses, supposedly laughing at Gobber's predicament before diving down towards Hiccup.

Hiccup was only a few yards away from the Great Halls steps, but his pace was halted as the Banshee landed down in front of him, right between the Great Hall and him. His lungs were out of breath, his legs were shaking, and his eyes were wide as he was now left alone with the thing.

The Banshee hissed the same hiss that Hiccup and his friends heard in the cave. Hiccup's body became rigid, his breaths shortened. His skin changed from its healthy peach to a sickly pale white, veins beginning show through his skin. His pupils shrunk as he was left paralyzed.

The Banshee made a move towards him when a shout carried over towards them.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, jumping in between his son and the Banshee and knocking Hiccup over to the side. Stoick remained half on top of Hiccup's limp form, his body lying sideways with his eyes still glued open. Stoick's sword was brought out, pointing directly at the beast's face.

The creature narrowed its eyes at Stoick, getting low to the ground and reading its muscles for a pounce. Stoick aimed his sword, ready to throw the blade before a roar caused him to stop.

A black figure jumped over him and Hiccup, landing on the Banshee and throwing it down onto the ground. The Banshee fought back, a clawing at the black scaly skin as the Night Fury clawed back. Both of them were in a heap of black forms tossing around with shrieks of anger and pain.

Stoick shifted his sword back and forth, not knowing which was Toothless and which was the Banshee as both of them mauled each other right in front of him. His eyes were wide, his intentions moving from revenge to absolutely not wanting to get involved.

The sun began to creep up to the horizon, its rays shining out over the land and lighting up the shadows. The light touched the skin of the Banshee and it roared in pain, said skin beginning to smoke and sizzle. The Banshee broke away from Toothless weakly ascending up into the sky and flying away with haste towards the shadows.

Toothless roared at it as it left, shooting a few plasma blasts as well. See as it was now gone, Toothless allowed his strength to leave him, falling down onto his belly and laying there with unsteady breaths. He moaned from the pain of the cuts littering his body, one of which was big and bleeding out fast.

Stoick looked at Toothless and then looked at his son who still lay still on the ground beside him. Hiccup's cheeks had streaks of tears running down them; the way he was facing was exactly on the spot where Toothless lay, moaning in pain.

Hiccup was forced to watch his best friend suffer in front of him.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**A.N.**

**Sorry this was a little late then what I said in the last chapter, but there were a lot of things going on.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews and apologies for any typos I missed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Toothless moaned as he was being treated for his wounds. He was upstairs of the Haddock house with Hiccup, his rider on the bed while Toothless himself lay on his rock slab. He moved his head over so he could see Hiccup, groaning again because of the pain all over his body and the one in his heart.

"There you go Toothless; that should help ya." Gobber said, patting down the herbs on his skin to smooth in the substance. Toothless cooed at him then rested his head back down on the rock.

Toothless' tail, saddle, and other mechanisms rested again the wall beside Hiccup's desk. Some of the parts were broken while the saddle was a bit torn. Gobber took notice of this and sighed.

"Well, better get started on these." He said, gesturing to the equipment before taking the damaged connecting rod and saddle and heading off to his forge. But before he could take a step down the stairs, Stoick stopped him with a question.

"Gobber, the medicine…" The medicine in question was for Hiccup, as it was obvious that the Banshee had once again injected the poor boy with its venom.

"Sorry Stoick, we don't have any more sap from a loki tree. We used it all up the first time, and even then we thought it wouldn't be enough." Gobber replied. "Don't worry though; Gothi is trying out some other recipes that will mimic the cures effects. It may not help Hiccup entirely, but it's the best we can do." Gobber reported and Stoick nodded in understanding.

Gobber walked down the stairs with the equipment still in his hands. Greeting him on the first floor of the house were Hiccup's friends, they too a little battered and bruised, but otherwise okay.

"How's Hiccup?" Astrid asked as Gobber walked by, opening the door before pausing to turn around and look at the girl.

"Uh…" Gobber started to think of an answer. Hiccup didn't really wake up since the attack, hasn't moved or spaz out like last time. His breathing was steady and he wasn't shivering. At first they thought he wasn't infected with the venom, but Hiccup's pale skin coloration and the fact that his veins were still popping out told them otherwise.

"He's… asleep, for lack of a better word."

Astrid shoulders dropped, unsatisfied with Gobber's answer, but understanding the predicament.

"Gothi should be over soon; help her with the medicine when she gets here." Gobber ordered before leaving his spot and closing the door behind him.

Just then, the door opened again and Gobber popped his head in.

"Never mind, she's here." He said as the short, old wise woman stepped in with her staff in one hand and a bag at her thigh.

Upstairs, Gothi and Astrid came upon the sight of Hiccup motionless on the bed while Stoick sat beside him. Said chief looked up when the two approached and stood when Gothi began to take out her things. As Gothi pointed to the ingredients, Astrid put them in a wooden bowl and churned them down. Water was added to make the medicine drinkable before it was giving to Hiccup.

"Thank you Gothi." Stoick thanked, nodding at both her and Astrid.

Gothi smiled, packed her things and left. Astrid remained in the room, staring at Hiccup with sorrowful eyes. She glanced up at Stoick before looking down at the floor; her hands came together in front of her.

"I'm sorry sir." She said. Stoick looked up at her.

"For what?" he asked.

"When we went into that cave, I should have stopped him. We should have left with the twins."

"To be honest, Hiccup would have gone in whether you guys were there or not. But I would rather have you lot with him then him go alone." Stoick replied.

"Thank you, sir."

Stoick smiled at her.

* * *

On the other side of the island, deep within the burrows of a cave, the Banshee lay upon the ground, claw marks of all sizes littering its body. The creature moaned, moving its limbs closer to its chest. The skin on its body was starting to get thick and sticky, forming white patches here and there.

The Banshee stood and reached up to grab onto one of the low hanging stalagmites. It hung upside down like a bat, folding its wings over its body as the white substance began to grow thicker and stronger. It cocooned in only minutes, the beast nestled within the thick fabric.

The next phase would soon come…

* * *

The moon was full over the village, casting white light down upon the glowing houses. The village was still awake however; men and women walking about in the streets and the last of the fishermen packing it up down at the docks.

The academy lay empty as the teens spent the night with Gobber up at one of the lookout towers, a fire roasting in the middle to keep them warm. Their dragons were behind them, using the space they had to sleep and rest.

Despite the activity still going on outside, inside the Haddock house, it was very different. It was quiet; no voices were heard, no rattling going on upstairs, no sound of a metal leg walking about.

Stoick lay the paper he was looking at down on the table and sighed. He glanced at the steps to his right before standing and picking up a wooden bowl. He filled the bowl with soup, placed a spoon in it, grabbed a fish from the basket beside the table and headed up the stairs.

As he came to the top, he noticed no one occupying the bed. He wasn't worried though because not a second later he saw Hiccup curled up beside Toothless, his head resting on the dragon's head. Stoick walked over to him and knelt down. He put the bowl and fish down beside him, the sound causing Toothless to open his eyes. Looking at Hiccup, he saw dry streaks of tears on his cheeks; his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep, but Stoick assumed it wasn't long ago Hiccup had gotten up and let it out. He wasn't ashamed for him, though they were always told that vikings didn't cry, that wasn't true when he lost Val, and it almost wasn't true when he thought Hiccup had died after defeating the Red Death.

Stoick placed his hand on Hiccup's shoulder and shook him gently. His son's eyes fluttered open, pupils moving to look over in his direction.

"I see you're feeling better." Stoick whispered. The houses' setting was quiet, the thought it should stay that way for now. Hiccup nodded and wiped what he could away from his cheeks; rubbing his eyes loose of the tension. Stoick smiled and picked up the bowl of soup.

"Here," he offered, holding out the soup to Hiccup who took it graciously. Hiccup readjusted himself to lean his back against Toothless before diving into the soup.

"You must be hungry too," Stoick stated, handing over the fish to Toothless. Said dragon sniffed it, his eyes getting big as he opened his toothless mouth and took the fish. He swallowed it whole and cooed, licking his chaps at the deliciousness.

"Dad, you know he's not going to have just one cod." Hiccup stated, smirking up at his father as he said this. Toothless began sniffing the floor around him, then saw Hiccup's bowl of soup and began sniffing it. Hiccup moved it away a little before Toothless did something rash.

Stoick chuckled, "Alright, I'll be back." He left to go downstairs and bring up the whole basket of fish. Hiccup padded Toothless head, smiling at his friend to see him in good spirits.

"Glad to have you back, bud." He whispered. Toothless cooed at him, nudging his head against his rider's shoulders. He was thankful to have his best friend back too.

* * *

**A.N.**

**A little bit of a Thanksgiving moment there, just in spirit for the holiday. I think we are half way through this story, woohooo! I don't know when the next update will come, but I'll keep you guys informed on my profile page.**

**Thank you all for the views, reviews, favorites, and followers!**

**Happy Thanksgiving!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

It was midday, the residents of Berk moving about amongst each other in the streets, the plaza, the docks, the hills and in the Great Hall. Stoick was busy chiefing, as Hiccup loved to call it, and Gobber was busy in the forge sharpening viking's weapons, occasionally cleaning dragon teeth, and on one rare time he was asked to sew up a hole in a little girl's toy lamb.

Running by the forge were four scurrying green feet, stopping to look around before catching eye of said forge. The little green Terrible Terror scuttled inside, climbing up a post to see who was currently in there. Having no sight of his target, he scampered off and continued to look elsewhere. He flew up and towards the Haddock's house, jumping in through the window on the side of the house and landing on Hiccup's bed. He glanced around the room and downstairs, seeing no one, he left back out the window and ventured off towards the docks.

At the docks was Stoick, overseeing the construction of some new defense ships. The Outcasts were getting more prevalent.

The little Terrible Terror landed just beyond the docks, looking around for the small boy he had a message for. Said message was written on paper and tied to his right leg. After yet again failing to find the young viking boy, the Terrible Terror flew off, heading back to the academy. As he was flying he heard a Night Fury roar from above and looked up. Sure enough, the black shadow danced across the ground below as the black dragon itself flew low and landed down by the forge. The Terrible Terror screeched with glee and dove down after them.

Hiccup hopped off of Toothless as soon as they touched the ground, walking over to Gobber in the forge with a happy step in his movement.

"Ah, you're back. I hope you had a good morning flight. I can see it extended on into the afternoon." Gobber stated while he continued with his work.

"Best flight I've had in days." Hiccup replied with a smile. He waltzed over to the table and picked up his shield.

"No sign of that you know what?" Gobber asked.

"No, surprisingly;" Hiccup answered, his smile drifting away some. "Speaking of which, I wanted to talk to my dad about that. Do you know where he is?"

"He should be down at the docks," Gobber glanced over at Hiccup before his eyes drifted down at the ground right behind Hiccup. "But it looks like someone else is looking for _you_." He informed. Hiccup raised an eyes brow and turned around, looking down to see a green Terrible Terror smiling up at him.

"Ah, airmail." He bent down and picked the little guy up, scratching his chin and making him purr. He untied the message and unraveled the paper; the Terrible Terror jumped off of Hiccup's arm and landed on Toothless' head. Toothless looked up at it with oval pupils.

Hiccup's eyes drifted from one side of the page to the next, over and back again as he read the text that was written. He rolled the paper back up and placed it in his satchel that was safely secured onto Toothless' saddle.

"I got to go Gobber," Hiccup said, hopping onto the saddle and fastening in his metal leg, a clicking sound could be heard as the two connected.

"Alright, I'll inform your father." Gobber shouted as Hiccup and Toothless flew up into the air; the Terrible Terror jumping off before they did.

"Thanks Gobber!" Hiccup shouted in reply, flying away with Toothless towards the academy with the Terrible Terror following behind.

* * *

The teens sat on their dragons in the academy, looking up as they heard Toothless coming down towards them. Toothless and Hiccup swooped in and landed in front of them, the Terrible Terror that was following swooped in as well and walked around minding his own business.

"'Bout time you got here." Snotlout criticized, getting annoyed with all of the waiting.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked Astrid, ignoring Snotlout's comment.

"Fishlegs said he saw something off of Raven Point." Astrid informed.

"I said I think I saw something. It was a quick glimpse, one minute it was there and the next it was gone."

"Tell me what happened, Fishlegs." Hiccup reassured his friend.

"Okay, okay; I was out in the woods with Meatlug eating some berries when I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. When I looked over it was gone, but what I saw was something big perched on a tree branch." Fishlegs told them.

"Did you get any details?" Hiccup pried.

"It was light in color, and… and I think it looked very thin." Fishlegs racked his brain to remember. Hiccup and Astrid shared a look.

"Banshee..." Hiccup simply stated, but Fishlegs spoke up.

"But that doesn't make any sense Hiccup. The Banshee isn't a light color; it has a dark brown, blackish color. And it doesn't come out in the day time; the sunlight burns its skin."

"How do you know that?" Snotlout questioned.

"Because, when we last saw it, it left just as soon as the sun came up. I saw how its skin was starting to smoke a little as the sun's rays hit it." Fishlegs explained.

"So it's allergic to sunlight?" Astrid repeated Fishleg's conclusion.

"That's so cool." Tuffnut commented him and his sister smiling.

"So it has a weakness to sunlight and loud sounds." Hiccup concluded.

"But we still don't know if what Fishlegs saw was indeed the Banshee." Astrid stated.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Hiccup replied.

"Oh no, we are not going out to look for that thing again!" Snotlout began to argue.

"Hiccup, you know I love new dragons and learning new things about them, but I don't know if I can do this." Fishlegs added shyly.

"Hiccup, we got in big trouble last time; you have no idea how angry your dad was." Astrid commented.

"Yeah, he was very terrifying… and intimidating." Fishlegs added again.

"I'm with you through anything Hiccup, but I don't think we should continue doing things behind your father's back." Astrid continued.

"I know, which is why I was going to ask him." Hiccup answered calmly.

"You don't under—wait what?" Astrid had to stop herself to think back to what Hiccup had said.

"I said I was going to talk to my dad about it. I'm not stupid, and I'm not crazy." Hiccup repeated himself. He saw what that dragon had done to Toothless; unwilling forced to watch as they fought each other, claws and teeth; hearing screeches and whines. He saw the pain Toothless had gone through, both physically and emotionally. If the Banshee came back again, Toothless would fight it not just because he could or because he had a grudge with it, but because he would for Hiccup's sake. Hiccup didn't want to be responsible for anything bad that would happen to Toothless. It would be the last thing he'd ever want. Toothless had given him so much, to repay him with either of their deaths was not an option.

"I know what we are up against, and I know we need all the help we can get." Hiccup continued. "We have to find a way to get rid of this thing, and soon, before it attacks anyone else."

"Or worse," Astrid chimed in.

"How could it get worse?" Snotlout asked.

"We need to make sure no one knows about this thing; if Alvin finds out about the Banshee, what it can do, how hard it is for _us_ to fight it, he'll capture it, train it, and use it against us." Hiccup explained.

"You can't train that thing, I mean; it didn't even take a liking to you Hiccup." Tuffnut commented.

"Well, technically it did, just not how we'd want." Fishlegs corrected.

"Alvin is persistent, and even if he can't train it, he'll still try to use it against us some way or another."

"So what exactly are we going to do?" Astrid asked. Hiccup answered her,

"We're going to find it, capture it, and relocate it far away from Berk."

* * *

**A.N.**

**The plan is now in motion, but do they really know what they are up against? Not a very exciting chapter, but it is a transition to the next sequence of events.**

**Thanks for the reviews!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Even though the idea was crazy, absurd and downright psychotic, the teens and their dragons all headed towards Berk's forest searching for the banished dragon known as the Banshee. Not seeing or hearing of it in a while had the village a little spooked, but for the most part relieved. Hiccup was worried, having a feeling that something bad was going to come out of all this, and asked his father if they could go out and look for the beast. Though reluctant, Stoick agreed, surprising Hiccup and his friends greatly. But Stoick's decision was not final with just a yes; he allowed Hiccup to undergo such a search only if he himself would come along and that's exactly what happened.

Stoick, along with Gobber, was riding with the young Vikings across Berk's land during the early evening hours of the day. They had explored the forest with keen eyes, but came up with nothing. That didn't matter to Hiccup because he knew they wouldn't find the Banshee out in the wilderness like any other dragon, but rather a cave, one in particular.

"Are we close to the cave yet son?" Stoick called out, Thornado flying a little closer to Toothless so their riders could better hear each other.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, looking for any marks that he remembered. A rock formation caught his eye and jogged a memory; looking around for the specific direction, he analyzed their position from the last time he was here and came up with a near perfect match.

"We're close, head south and we should be there in a matter of minutes." Hiccup replied, turning Toothless in the direction needed, the other riders doing the same.

"What are we going to do when we get there exactly?" Gobber asked, leaning out from behind Stoick.

"Look for any clues on the Banshee's whereabouts or anything that may give us an explanation of its sudden disappearance." Hiccup answered.

"Why should we even care?" Snotlout complained.

"Because it's a threat to everyone who lives on Berk, including the dragons; and we need to get rid of it." Stoick answered with a stern voice. Snotlout knew better than to ask another stupid question.

"We're here," Hiccup announced, all of them following his lead as they descended down to the entrance of a deep, hollow cave.

All of the dragons landed in front of its entrance, they and their riders peering into its thick dark interior. The wind that was once blowing through their hair made an eerie sound within the aperture as they walked inside. The sound and atmosphere of the place made Fishlegs shiver, leaning closer to Meatlug as she and the other dragons walked them through the darkness.

Hiccup leaned closer to Toothless' head, giving him a pat before speaking up.

"Bud, can you give us some light?" He asked. Toothless narrowed his eyes, scanning for a place to safely shoot a plasma blast. Once he found one, he shot a purplish blue bolt of light at it; the rock bursting to life as it began to glow and illuminate the area.

Stoick, Gobber and the teens glanced around before looking down; Hiccup's eyes widened as well as the others'. On the ground of the cave was a white web-like substance, coating the rock floor like a thin layer of carpet.

"I think we found it." Hiccup stated nonchalantly.

"It's like a spider's nest in here." Astrid commented as Stormfly and the other dragons started walking deeper into the cave. As they ventured further in, the floor's carpet thickened. The web-like substance brought back bad memories for Hiccup. He closed his eyes to clear his head, focusing on calming the increasing rate of his heartbeat.

"Ugh, this stuff makes me sick." Ruff commented, giving a disgusted look at the floor, thankful that they were not walking on it and their dragons were instead.

"Ugh, tell me about it… barf." Tuffnut added. Barf's head lifted up, squawking in acknowledgment that his name was called.

"Oh, sorry, not you Barf." Tuff replied with a chuckle.

The light was beginning to fade, both from moving deeper in and because it only lasts for so long. Toothless shot a second plasma blast ahead of them, hitting another rock and lighting up the surrounding area once more.

Something seemed to have caught Stoick's attention and he looked up, his eyes widening in response. Soon Gobber saw it too and his reaction was the same, curious and a little frightened.

"What is that?" Astrid asked, seeing the same thing her chief and Gobber were looking at. The rest of the teens glanced up and saw an upside down cocoon-like pod. Its base was firmly attached to the ceiling of the cave, thick white strands woven down to form an oval. There was a small tear in the bottom of it, but what caught their attention were the shadows inside, the silhouette of something curled up within the pod.

Stoick lead Thornado over to stand directly under it. He brought out his sword and reached his hand up, swiping the blade across the cocoon to tear it open further. Once done, he and his dragon backed away quickly as what was in there began to fall out. Gasps erupted from the frightened teens, as well as Gobber and a silent one from Stoick. They all sat there, mouths ajar and eyes large circles. Hanging out of the pod was an empty figure of the beast, one wing hanging limp. Most of its form was still inside the pod, but its head and a small portion of its torso was dangling freely. The skin was all it was, like that of a snake still keeping hold of its form.

"It's its skin." Hiccup breathed out after regaining his marbles.

"Okay this 'dragon' drinks blood like a vampire bat, makes web like a spider, and sheds its skin like a snake? What in Thor's name is this thing?!"

"A Banshee…" Fishlegs replied, his voice quivering greatly.

"I know _that_ part." Snotlout retorted.

"So, wait; if it's not here, then where is it?" Astrid asked, fear evident in her voice.

"I think a better question would be, why was it in a cocoon and why did it shed its skin?" Hiccup replied, his eye brows furrowed as he thought of all the answers, none of which he didn't like.

"We're not staying here to find out." Stoick announced. He, Gobber and Thornado turned around. "We're heading back to the village; we'll work on a plan to capture this thing and send it off the island."

The kids nodded and turned their dragons around, heading out the way they came in, a bit quicker this time.

Hiccup glanced back at the cave as soon as they reached daylight. He swallowed hard, a heavy feeling falling into the pit of his stomach. Something told him this wasn't the end; this task they were force to execute wasn't going to be easy.

Something told him he was going to meet the Banshee again, and he had a bad feeling that he would have to relive a nightmare he's been trying to forget…

…But the marks on his neck forced his mind to remember.

* * *

**A.N.**

**This chapter was creepy, especially when I was playing dark, creepy cave music to better help with the mood. Sorry this chapter is small, and I'm also sorry for taking so long to finish it today; had to go grocery shopping before starting this up.**

**I don't know if I'll be able to post another chapter tomorrow, or Friday—not Thursday because a new episode is airing! I'll keep you guys posted though.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing, favoriting and following! I greatly appreciate it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

Hiccup and Stoick lead the group back to the village, Stoick constantly looking at his son as Hiccup seemed distant. His eyes never lifted up from Toothless' back, the dragon in particular doing most of the work while Hiccup controlled the stirrup when they needed to change altitude or direction, which wasn't done in a while. The gang flew relatively straight onward to home.

"Hiccup," Stoick spoke up, catching everyone's surprise as nothing has been said in a while.

Hiccup's head popped up a little too quickly, indicating that his mind had been elsewhere and that usually led to irrational decisions.

"Yeah?" he replied now looking at his dad rather than the saddle.

"Is something wrong?" Stoick knew the answer to his question, but he wanted to hear what his son had to say.

"I don't know." Hiccup's eyes moved back down at the saddle. Toothless glanced behind him at his rider, but otherwise continued his flying with the other dragons behind him.

Stoick looked hard at his son, about to ask another question when Gobber placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Perhaps we could continue the discussion when we are on the ground." Gobber stated. Stoick sighed, but otherwise let the conversation fall.

"So, what are we going to do about the Banshee?" Astrid asked, trying to quickly change the mood from awkward.

"We can't do anything at the moment." Stoick replied.

"He's right; that thing went through a metamorphosis, we have absolutely no idea what it looks like now." Gobber stated.

"That's if it actually changed." Snotlout commented. They all just looked at him.

"What?" He asked, clearly clueless as to why all attention was currently on him.

"That's what metamorphosis means, Snotlout; to change into something else." Astrid spat out.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" Snoltout defended himself.

"Hey, yeah; I didn't know that either." Tuffnut joined.

"Didn't you know what metamorphosis meant?" Ruffnut asked her brother.

"No, do you?" Tuff questioned.

"Yeah," Ruffnut replied, glancing away a bit while her brother looked at her. "No,"

Toothless' body became stiff, his eyes going wide as his pupils shrunk down to their slits. He bared his teeth and began to growl, looking below him and beside him. Hiccup undoubtedly noticed this and placed his hand on Toothless' head.

"What's wrong bud?" he asked with a concerned whisper. Toothless shook his hand off and kept looking around.

"Okay, it doesn't matter if you guys knew what it meant or not, you know now." Astrid barked.

A small dot in the sky began to creep up on the gang from behind.

"Hey, that's unfair; you say its okay for them but complain to me when I admitted the same thing?" Snotlout started to argue.

"Okay, number one: you're a jerk Snotlout. Number two: you purposely do things to get under other's skin, so kind of deserve it. And number three: you're a jerk!" Astrid argued back.

The small dot grew steadily with a fast pace, flapping its wings up and down as it darted towards them.

"I think you already said that." Fishlegs commented.

"Well he's a double jerk!" Astrid replied with equal amount of fury as she had with Snotlout; not directed towards Fishlegs, but the simple fact.

Gobber glanced away from the fighting teens and tapped Stoick's shoulder.

"Uh, are you going to do something Stoick?" he asked. But when his friend didn't reply he leaned out to take a peek at what was dividing his attention.

Stoick was staring over at Hiccup, but more importantly, he was focused on Toothless and how the dragon was acting strangely. Hiccup was still trying to calm him down before he looked around as well thinking that Toothless was sensing another creature.

"Stoick?" Gobber called to his friend.

The figure behind them was a lot closer now; if everyone were to be quiet they would have heard its wings flapping in the wind.

"Wait," Stoick hushed his friend, still looking at Toothless. Hiccup turned his attention to his father, his eyes showing confusion and fear.

Suddenly, Thornado began to act up, growling as he shifted a little in his flying pattern. The other dragons began to do the same, catching the attention of their arguing riders and quieting them.

"Hey, what's wrong with Hookfang?"

"Stormfly, what's wrong girl?"

"Meatlug?"

"Barf and Belch are going crazy again." Tuff stated.

"Yeah but that can be good sometimes." Ruff added with a mischievous smile.

"Oh yeah, heh heh heh."

Ah echoing scream emitted from behind them, each rider going stiff at the sound and immediately twisting around to look behind them. By the time they did though, it was too late. The Banshee was already at arm's reach of Stormfly's tail, zipping past her and her rider, past the other frightened dragons and riders and heading straight for Toothless.

Toothless dodged to the right just in time before the Banshee had the chance to make a kill blow to his neck; however, it did manage to strike a good hit on Hiccup. The whole thing happened in slow motion for him; the screech, the sudden movement from Toothless, and then the torn tissue that stretch across his left cheek from one of the Banshee's teeth.

Toothless roared at the thing as it continued flying forward before expertly looping up and around to come back again.

"Hiccup!" Stoick yelled, witnessing what had unfolded and seeing the new cut that was bleeding quite a bit on his left cheek.

Hiccup blinked a couple of times, his hand came up to his face feeling the scared skin. He was a bit shocked for everything happened so fast. The sound of the Banshee's scream freed him from the mental confusion and back to reality. He and Toothless dodge again as the Banshee came back, narrowly missing them once more. Toothless dived downward towards the trees while the rest of the riders and their dragons stayed up… along with the Banshee.

The beast stopped in the air, hovering just above the altitude the gang was. It hissed at them while the dragons roared and growled back.

"Fishelgs, I thought you said that thing was allergic to sunlight?!" Astrid shouted.

"It was! Metamorphosis, remember?!" Fishlegs answered her.

The Banshee in question was a different color than it previously was. Instead of being a dark brown, blackish color, it was leathery skin was now copper, a few almost transparent patches holding a darker contrast on its wings. The wings themselves were wider and longer, stretching the whole way down to its hips where a separate set of wings began. Similar to that of a Night Fury's, the Banshee had a small flap of skin coming out from its hip, curving down and making up what it didn't have before—a tail. Seeing the thing in the position it was now, it looked like an ancient ghoul with a boney frame and large, gray, over hanging teeth.

The Banshee breathed in deeply and then let out its horrifying screech, the dragons and Vikings holding theirs ears or hovering unsteadily. Fortunately for them, the screech was short lived and not as powerful as they remembered.

"Everyone, fire!" Stoick shouted the command. The dragons began firing at the Banshee, the beast itself dove downward into the trees.

"After it!" Astrid yelled and they all dove down to follow the thing.

* * *

Toothless and Hiccup weaved in and out of the tree trunks, flying as fast as they could while staying in the air and not crashing into the obstacles.

Toothless turned left only to stop immediately as a white substance fly right past his face and landed on a tree. A scream jeered both of their attentions to the left.

Little time was giving to act as the Banshee crashed purposely into Toothless, their claws digging into each other as the Banshee attempted to pry Hiccup off of the saddle. The heap crashed to the ground, spinning and twisting as they slid across the surface. Hiccup was flung off of Toothless as Toothless himself finally came to a stop. The Banshee flew up and landed in between Hiccup and Toothless. It turned around and roared at Toothless before shooting a ball of its web. It hit Toothless just as the Night Fury was getting up, sticking to the side of his body and growing over the rest of him until it touched the ground. Toothless roared as he struggled to get out of the trap, his tail wiping around frantically as he failed to break through the substance.

The Banshee turned back to Hiccup who was just now getting up, dizzy and unsteady on his feet. The sound of Toothless alerted him to the danger and he whipped around to see the events unfold.

"Toothless!" he shouted.

The Banshee raced towards him and he screamed, running the opposite direction. The dragon shot a web towards Hiccup, hitting him just as he turned around to peak behind him. Hiccup was flung against a tree, the substance growing over him like a live creepy vine. It attached itself to Hiccup's body and to the trunk of the tree, preventing any movement from the boy whatsoever.

Hiccup grunted as he tried to push his way out, but every attempt was futile. He couldn't move, he couldn't get away, he couldn't hide.

The Banshee ducked down low to the ground before jumped at him, catching hold of the tree with its large, sharp claws and curling its tail around the trunk as far as it would go. But before it got to do anything, a bolt of fire was shot at its back; the thing hollered in pain and climbed up the tree, curling around to roar angrily at the one responsible.

Astrid and Stormfly dove down towards them, Stoick, Gobber and Thornado right behind her as well as the other dragon riders.

"Get away from my son!" Stoick shouted angrily as they raced towards the Banshee.

The Beast flew up from the tree and screamed at them. Hookfang and Meatlug fired at it, Stormfly shot her spines, and Barf and Belch fired the final blow to make the Banshee fall down onto the ground. It wiggled there for a bit and then got up, dashing back up into the sky to let out its screech; this time full blast.

There was nothing holding it back as the scream reverberated through the air and pierced the eardrums of those around it.

The teens and the adults clasped their hands against the side of their head; eyes tightly shut from the pain that pulsated through their minds.

One by one, they fell unconscious; one by one, they succumbed to the darkness.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**A.N.**

**Sorry it so long for me to write this. Today I had a few guest coming over and it was pretty busy from then on.**

**I'm a bit surprised with this chapter as I hadn't expected to be this long, but I LOVE it!**

**Anyway, thanks for all of the review guys! And sorry for any missed typos.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Moans and groans softly echoed off of the cave walls as the Vikings and dragons woke from their induced slumber.

Stoick opened his eyes only to view darkness. He attempted to more his arms, but found them to be tightly secured within the apparent cocoon. He turned his head to the left and right, trying to visually see the children that he could heard doing the same thing he was moments ago. He could depict Gobber's voice to his left while the kids were all lined off to his right.

"Gobber?" he called to his friend.

"I'm here," Gobber replied, ceasing his skirmishes as he saw no hope of getting out.

"Who's all here?" Stoick asked, directing it to his right for the kids.

"Here," Astrid's voice replied first, being the closest to Stoick's according to his hearing.

"We're here, unfortunately." Tuffnut answered as well, saying so for both he and his sister who, Stoick assumed, was right next to Tuffnut.

"Here, sir." A quivering voice added from the darkness, belonging to none other than Fishlegs.

And to Fishlegs' right came another voice, one which they all knew who it belonged to.

"Here," the voice sounded grumpy, mostly due to the fact that he couldn't get past the cocoon bindings, and it was greatly affecting his ego. Snotlout huffed out of annoyance, trying to flex his arms so that the web would break; unfortunately, it didn't.

"What is this stuff?!" he asked.

"The Banshee's netting I believe." Fishlegs replied, his voice still quivering.

A squawk sounded in front of them and Astrid gasped.

"Stormfly?" she whispered out, shocked to know her dragon was also here, and from what it sounded like, she was trapped too.

Stormfly shot out a burst of fire, illuminating the aperture for a second before the darkness took over again. From what they could see, all the dragons were trapped on the floor within the cocoons, heads and tails free. The light also gave the group enough time to see who they were beside, and who was all here.

It wasn't until Stoick gasped that they noticed who was missing.

"Where's my son?!"

* * *

Toothless continued his struggles with the web cocoon on the forest floor where the Banshee had left him. He was forced to watch as the dragon took all of his friends and hauled them away to who knows where. It wasn't until Toothless watched him take Hiccup away, the very last of the group beside himself, that Toothless knew what the thing was doing.

It was torturing him; making him watch as he possessed not only all of his friends now, but his little Hiccup once again.

Toothless roared into the sky, his tail whipping around to match the scuffles his limbs were doing within the sheath. He hissed and snapped his head down at the nearest strand at his shoulder, missing the first time but snatching it the second. He bit down on it, trying to break the thick thread with his teeth, but it seemed to do nothing. That is until his saliva began dripping onto it.

The strand began eroding away like cotton candy in the mouth. Toothless, noticing this, began to bite the other filaments, but instead of wrestling with it like a T-bone steak, he drenched the web with his saliva. Soon the cocoon was weak enough for Toothless to break free and hop out.

A hiss erupted from a throat not too far from Toothless' position; looking up at a nearby tree branch, Toothless narrowed his eyes and began growling deeply as he saw the Banshee perched on the large branch. The male dragon color was more vibrant now and not as dull as he had first saw him when he attacked. Obviously, the thing had feed before coming back here to deal with Toothless.

Toothless hissed back at the dragon, getting low to the ground and spreading out his wings.

The Banshee lunged forward, screeching as it did. Toothless wrapped his wings in front of him and tucked his ears against his head until the sound passed. Hearing nothing, he unfolded them only to see the dragon's teeth inches from his face. Toothless shot a plasma blast just in time before the thing got in a crucial hit. Unfortunately he missed, but only because the other dragon was extremely good with his reflexes.

The Banshee flew upwards before stopping and glancing down at Toothless. Toothless roared and began flapping his wings ascending up to it before gravity took hold of him again and brought him back down.

The ghoulish dragon narrowed his eyes, noticing how the red tail fin with the painting of a Viking was not opening like the original black one. He smiled and dove down towards Toothless, shooting a bundle of his web out of his mouth and making his opponent hop to the side to dodge the trap.

Once Toothless landed on his feet, his back was scratched considerably from the dragon, the force causing him to tumble over and do a turtle roll onto his back. Toothless twirled around and shot another plasma blast just as soon as the Banshee was coming in for another hit, and this time he didn't miss. Dead center the blast struck its target as the dragon fell down to the earth and withered a bit in his spot.

His skin was beginning to smoke and sizzle like it used to when he was a fledgling. Getting up weakly, he roared at Toothless before flying away, heading back to his cave where he can rest and feed to build up more strength.

Toothless glanced down at his small wound on his left shoulder, the saddle being torn from the claws of the other dragon as well as his scaly skin. He faced the beast again and roared, but the distance now between the two droned it out.

The Banshee flapped its wings to go faster before diving down some and folding them back to allow gravity to pull it quicker towards the ground. It descended a bit before leveling out only to now completely nose dive down into a ravine and sharply turn right into a cave.

It flew through a series of small openings, tunnels going every which way like a labyrinth before one came to a halt at a large pool of water. The Banshee dived into the water, the splash echoing off the walls. The water settle minutes later and the caves were silent again.

A half an hour later, the creature landed on the rocky floor of its home and crawled over its prey resting peacefully within his cocoon. The skin of the beast was singed, spots of blood coating over some places where the skin was deeply burned.

It lay beside Hiccup and dug its tentacles into his neck, sucking out the blood immediately after. The red liquid flowed out steadily through the almost transparent skin of the appendages and into the system of the beast where it could be used as nutrients and energy.

The Banshee listened to Hiccup's heartbeat, it getting faster as less and less blood was being pumped to vital parts of his body. Not wanting to kill its rare prey, it released him and settled down beside the cocoon.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Sorry this chapter was taking so long, I couldn't choose which route to take. I thought of at least three different outcomes for this chapter and couldn't quite pick one to move along. Fortunately, I was able to stretch some things out and add more information, since you guys are lacking a bit of it.**

**I've been asked if it was necessary to have the Banshee lose its weakness to sunlight, and my answer is no, it's not necessary that's just what happens when the thing goes through its metamorphosis. Just because the Banshee lost one of its crucial weaknesses, doesn't mean it hasn't gained another. It's a give and take situation.**

**Again, I'm sorry for this chapter taking so long and thank you all for the reviews and views, favorites, followers. Sorry for any typos I have within the text.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 12**

* * *

Hiccup's breath hitched in his throat as his mind came into consciousness, his body flinching and his eyes snapping open. The shivers came soon after that, his slightly pale skin cold against the web cocoon that kept him trapped under the Banshee's mercy.

His eyes wandered the dark cave for said beast, but, evidently, it was too dark for him to see much. He felt something bump against the cocoon to his right, his ears at their height as he listened for any noise.

Breathing, soft breathing as if one was asleep. A hiss came after that and he could pick out some movement beside him. He closed his eyes as he heard the thing get up and move around him. He felt a warm breath on his face, his eyes squeezing tighter as he heard a clicking noise rhythmically beat off of the walls.

Suddenly, the web trapping him in a cocoon began to move, splitting apart and dropping him down freely onto his weak, numb feet. Hiccup gasped from the surprise, knowing very well that the Banshee was nearby, probably watching him, but did nothing to prevent him from escaping.

Hiccup kept his hands on the ground until he could feel his legs again. Once he could, he stood up and laid his back flat against the wall. His left foot step to the side then his right; following the wall, his hands never left its surface. His eyes were wide, pupils looking for some form of light to get an idea of where he was. Judging by the moisture and echoing nature of the space, he guessed he was in a cave, and he was right, but the real question was, where was this cave?

Another hiss echoed towards him, clanks of claws against rock could be heard above him, more than likely the Banshee was stalking him from the ceiling. Hiccup didn't look up as there was no need, he wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

A thump was heard off to his right, the sound causing Hiccup to jump with fear. After that, it was Hiccup's worse nightmare as he heard a ringing sensation, a screech or a hiss coming from the Banshee. His body went stiff and his pupils shrunk. He attempted to move his hands to his ears to shield them from the noise, but it was too late. His legs unwilling step out from the side of the wall; being directed by another, he walked forward before stopping and feeling jerked backwards.

His heart beat raced as his arm lifted up, his hand out stretched into the darkness. He couldn't control anything, his body limp as it moved to the Banshees' will.

He felt something press against his hand, similar to what it would feel like with him and Toothless, but he had no doubt this was not the case.

His mind swarmed with questions as he listened to the Banshee's movements, as it moved its head off of his hand and directed said arm back down to his side. He listened as the dragon moved around him, circling him fully before coming back face to face; Hiccup remaining absolutely still.

Another hiss was heard and Hiccup began walking forward. He felt like a puppet, unable to move his own body and watching as the strings were pulled by someone else. His mind was jolted back into focus as a searing pain stabbed its way through his neck and radiated throughout his limbs, head and chest. He felt himself get weaker than he already was as it drained him. A small cry was able to escape his lips before he collapsed onto the ground, the Banshee's appendages still attached to his exposed throat.

_I… can't… breathe…_ he thought fearfully as his head began to swim with lightheadedness. His lungs were very much getting their air, but it was the rest of his body that wasn't getting enough of its blood.

Just when he thought it was practically over, the Banshee released him and he gasped sharply as if he was under water and just resurfaced into the oxygen. He felt his shirt being tugged and his body dragged back over to the cocoon he was originally held in. As soon as he was placed inside, the web grew back over and enclosed him inside. Strangely enough, as it was before where his head was free to breath, the cocoon engulfed him entirely, small holes being formed so oxygen could get in and offer him a chance to continue breathing.

Despite what happened, the only thing he could think of was his friends, his father, and Toothless. Hopefully they were safe and out of harm's way.

* * *

**A.N.**

**This chapter is short, but this is all it's about. Next chapter will be longer and posted sometime this week, hopefully tomorrow or Friday.**

**Thank you!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 13**

* * *

A fireball was shot at the ground, joined with a couple others, allowing the space to light up with a golden glow.

"Hiccup?!" Astrid's voice echoed throughout the aperture, a response never coming back to her ears.

"Hiccup?!" Stoick joined in. "Son?!"

"I don't think he's here Stoick." Gobber stated, not liking said statement one bit.

"Do you think the Banshee…" Fishlegs trailed off with a hard swallow.

"He might be somewhere else." Astrid purely guessed with hope, "I mean that thing does seem pretty smart."

"You know, I'm starting to think the Banshee is part of the Strike Class." Fishlegs said with a soft tone to himself, but he others heard it well.

"Fishlegs, this is no time for statistics." Stoick replied to him.

"Sorry sir," Fishlegs apologized.

"We have to get out of these bindings…" Stoick breathed out as he began struggling with his cocoon again.

"But how? This thing is tighter than my great grandma's hugs." Gobber commented. A munching sound could be heard to their left as Stoick and Gobber glanced over along with Astrid.

"Are you guys trying to biting your way out?" Astrid asked disbelief and pure disgust evident on her face.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut stopped their biting and looked over at the others in both directions.

"Uh… yeah;" Tuffnut replied with a guilty expression.

"We're getting out of here." Ruff replied also, but with a more confident look. Tuffnut straighten up with new confidence since his sister obviously wasn't bothered by Astrid's look.

"Yeah, we're escaping!"

"That's disgusting!" Snotlout yelled at them.

"Says you, it actually tastes like honey... you know the kind from bees—" Tuff replied.

"I know what honey is!" Snotlout shouted angrily at him, feeling insulted.

"There really isn't any other kind of honey…" Fishlegs commented.

"Thank you for your input, _Fishlegs_." Snotlout emphasized his name with great annoyance.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help!" Fishlegs defended himself.

"No, you're being a—" Snotlout was interrupted by Stoick.

"That's enough! Arguing isn't going to get us out of these bindings and it isn't going to help us find my son!"

"Sorry chief," Snotlout and Fishlegs replied in unison.

Astrid wasn't paying attention to them or their argument as she was focusing on her dragon, an idea coming to mind.

"Stormfly," Stormfly lifted her head up in acknowledgement. "Tail flick!"

Said Naddle flicked her tail up, or at least as far as she could with her bound state, and shot a few spikes towards Astrid. Of course she didn't hit her, but rather land a few strikes on the cocoon beside her… and a few towards Fishlegs.

Fishlegs screamed with a high pitch as he nearly witnessed his head get cut off from one of the spikes that landed inches from his neck.

"Sorry Fishlegs, I thought that might have worked."

"Well, her aim might be a little off." Fishlegs replied with shock.

Stoick sighed, "Cutting these things aren't going to work."

"If it did, we'd be out of here by now with those dragons." Gobber jerked his head once towards the dragons who were still struggling with the web cocoons, their claws and sharp talons doing little to help them.

"I've got an idea," Snotlout spoke up, "Hookfang, flame up!"

Hookfang squawked before he set his skin on fire, adding more light into the room. The web began to melt and turn into a thick sticky liquid.

Astrid gasped, "Its working!"

"Uh, no it's not." Fishlegs corrected, hating to be right at this moment.

The web began to stick to Hookfang's skin, making the fire die and Hookfang sticking to the ground. Said Monstrous Nightmare whined from the failure and huffed as his situation only got worse.

"I still say we should just bite our way out." Tuffnut commented.

"Right," Astrid said slowly, "You guys go on ahead and do that." She retorted while rolling her eyes.

"Okay," Ruff and Tuff said, shrugging their shoulders and going back to their biting. However, they noticed how they're last strands they were munching on were broken, and hanging loose amongst the other expertly wove web strings.

"Hey," Ruffnut started complaining, "Mine's broken."

"Yeah, mine too."

The teens looked at them with surprise.

"It's broken?" Stoick asked.

"Come back here strand, I wanna bite you; you taste like honey." Tuffnut said to himself as he talked to the broken strand.

Everyone looked at each other, each getting the same idea.

* * *

Hiccup breathed in heavily, feeling as if the air he needed was slowly being depleted, even though there were tiny holes in the cocoon. He was complete encased within the sheath, lying limp on his back as if he was in a coffin. He could hear something besides his own breaths and it wasn't the Banshee.

His cocoon was beginning to solidify; the bottom half turning into a shell like casing while it slowly moved up to the top. Soon enough, the cocoon transformed into what looked like a giant egg, with Hiccup nestled inside.

Small vine like strands of the web began creeping their way towards Hiccup's skin; touching it ever so gently as more and more branched out over his body. Hiccup would have flinched if it weren't for the paralysis. He felt the strands crawl up his arm like a vine and a few more touched his head and neck.

Suddenly, he felt tired, more so than before. His thoughts became cloudy as he quickly fell into a deep sleep. His heart rate slowed and his breaths evened out.

The Banshee watched as the third casing of the cocoon began to grow over the second, shell-like one. This layer was harder, more impenetrable than the second. Its color was the same creamy white as the silk web and smooth shell, but its texture was rough like metal and took longer to fully encase the cocoon than the last.

As soon as the cocoon was finished, the Banshee took off down the tunnel. Knowing that its prey was now getting his nutrients and means to continue living as well as its security of staying within its possession, the ghoulish creature had no worries of any intruders as they would not be able to release the boy from the cocoon.

Not even a Night Fury.

* * *

**A.N.**

**I went ice skating yesterday and fell only twice, the first time being my boyfriend's fault. The second time I went penguin sliding, lol. Those little kids do get in your way a lot, though; I don't know how many times I had to avoid running them over when they skated in front of me or fell down inches from my feet.**

**o.O**

**Anyway, I'm definitely seeing this story reaching about 20 chapters, give or take 3.**

**Thank you all for the reviews and apologies for any typos I missed.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 14**

* * *

Toothless' nose never left the ground as he continued on the trail he sensed was his riders'. After his encounter with the Banshee, Toothless had to determine two options. One, he could chase after the dragon and hunt down his Hiccup, or two, he could discreetly locate the creature's nest and rescue his rider from its clutches. Since so many things could go wrong with the first option, Toothless decided to go with the second, despite the fact that every second he wasted trying to be silent around these parts of the forest, Hiccup was being tortured by that thing.

The other riders and their dragons had often times popped into Toothless' head. But by elimination alone, he figured they would be with his Hiccup.

Toothless hopped up onto a boulder, sniffed around it, and then jumped back down. He stayed beside the rock, his nose going about to decide which direction to take.

Suddenly, his ears perked up when a familiar screech reach his hearing. His head immediately bolted upward toward the sky, just in time to see the Banshee flying overhead unaware of his presence down below. As the Banshee flew past just above the tree tops, Toothless jerked down closer to the ground to avoid detection. He watched as the creature's figure shrunk the further it got from him. He growled lowly and raced forward, following it a good distance behind.

This thing was going somewhere, and Toothless had a feeling he'd find his friends sooner than expected.

* * *

The cocoons that wrapped around the gang's bodies were beginning to break and disintegrate as their saliva eroded the material away. The twins were the first to break free, falling onto the ground practically face first before picking themselves up and rushing over to help the others. One by one they were free, and soon the dragons were as well.

Snotlout tore the last of the web away from Hookfang's body and flicked it off his hand, watching it fall to the floor beneath their feet. Hookfang sat up and shook himself free of any small hanging pieces, extremely glad to finally be out of the cocoon.

"Okay, that's the last of it." Astrid stated, her Nadder, Stormfly, sitting up and shaking herself off as well before moving beside her rider.

"Let's get out of here, quickly." Stoick said, hopping onto Thornado and reaching out to help Gobber up.

The teens all jumped onto their saddles and turned toward the exit tunnel. Not even a step forward was it before they heard a booming echo, a scream all too familiar to them.

Stormfly jumped back just as a clump of web was shot at her feet, sticking to the ground where she once stood. Astrid glanced over to her left and noticed another tunnel; Stoick saw this as well.

"That way!" she shouted, pointing in the direction of the tunnel with her arm.

"Quickly, everyone into the tunnel!" Stoick yelled, being the first to move and the rest to follow close behind. As soon as the last dragon, Hookfang, disappeared into the dark tunnel, the Banshee rounded the corner of the exit and landed amongst the space in front of the empty cocoons. It growled and tilted its head toward the sounds it heard off to its right. It darted up into the air again and down the tunnel after its escapees.

"I can't see!" Snotlout shouted, his eyes desperately trying to depict which shadow was what. Hookfang lite himself up, allowing Snotlout to see his surroundings, but only as far as a few feet.

"Oh, that's a little better." He said, quite thankful with his dragon's help.

"Stormfly," Astrid need not to finish her sentence as said Nadder opened her jaws and emitted a firecracker, keeping the light constant within her mouth.

Between Stormfly up front just behind Thornado and Hookfang in the back, the gang had a little bit of light to show them what was up ahead. But just as Hookfang's only traveled so far, the group did not expect an split section made up of eight different tunnels all going a separate way.

At the last second, Thornado veered left down the farthest tunnel, Stormfly veered left and up to the top tunnel, the twins veered right and down to the bottom tunnel, Meatlug continued straight on and Hookfang took the farthest to the right.

"Ah, where'd my light go?!" Fishlegs screamed as the darkness took over his vision once more.

Hookfang continued flying, his body emitting its fire to help him see where he was going. Snotlout glanced around him, seeing no one he frowned with a little fear.

The twins continued on their path as well, their Zippleback swerving out of the way just in time before hitting some low hanging rocks.

Stoick squinted his eyes to see forward, but his vision was impaired by the blackness.

"Thornado, slow down." He said, his Thunderdrum doing as was told and descended down to land.

"I can't see my own hands, Stoick." Gobber informed.

"You only have one Gobber." Stoick reminded his friend. A sound reached their ears and they paused to listen.

"You hear that?" Stoick asked.

"It sounds like… water."

* * *

Stormfly kept her pace as she flew through the looping tunnel. Astrid looked around, seeing no one in front of her and no one behind. She bit her bottom lip and contemplated on what to do.

"Maybe we should go back," Astrid stated, hesitant to actually do so though. Stormfly flew down and landed on the ground, walking a bit forward before coming to a stop. She halted her firecracker and the light faded out.

"Uh, Stormfly…" Said dragon sensed her rider's nervousness and shot a blast of fire down at the ground.

Astrid jumped off of the saddle and turned around, looking behind her at the way they came. Sitting on the wall just a few feet from them was the Banshee, its black eyes staring deep into her blue ones. She screamed from fear and surprise, stumbling backwards into Stormfly only to have her dragon shoot out a dozen spikes at the Banshee. They missed as the dragon scurried away just in time for the spikes to lodge themselves into the rock wall.

With the lack of proper elements to keep it going, the fire Stormfly shot at the ground was beginning to diminish. Astrid took no time to realize this and knelt down, blowing into it to try and keep it going. It wasn't working as the light continued to die.

A hiss echoed from above her and Astrid looked up. She could only see darkness, but she knew the thing was up there and so did Stormfly. The Nadder shot a burst of magnesium fire up at the ceiling, narrowly missing the Banshee.

The creature jumped down and hovered in midair before dashing off down the tunnel. Its screech echoed towards its scared escapees as the sound neither seemed close or far away.

Astrid's eyes stared into the blackness ahead of her, the light at her feet fading out until there was none left. A hiss erupted in front of her, sounding a little closer than the screech seconds before. She backed up closer to her dragon, her limbs stiff and eyes wide. Her stare was redirected just as a purple flash of light flew past her and erupted right in front of her and Stormfly. The amethyst burst illuminated the area for a split second, showing the Banshee being mere inches away from them before having to run away as to not get burned.

Astrid turned around to the sound of a roar, a black figure jumping out of its shadows and firing another purple plasma blast at the Banshee. Her fear left her as she saw Toothless with her, driving the Banshee away with each plasma blast at near miss. Stormfly joined her fellow dragon and fired a few of her magnesium blasts, both being able to make the Banshee run for a separate tunnel.

As soon as it was gone, Astrid rushed over to Toothless.

"Toothless!" she shouted with joy, coming up to the side of him and petting his head. Toothless calmed down a bit, being glad to see one of Hiccup's friends, his intended mate to be exact, and know that they were alright.

"Toothless…" Astrid's voice trailed away as her thoughts drifted towards the fear of the truth. She knelt down to his eye level and spoke to him softly.

"…Where's Hiccup?"

* * *

**A.N.**

**Writing this at 2 in the morning with chocolate milk at my bedside = BOSS**

**I already had a good 5-6 hour nap beforehand so I'm just going to play School of Dragons until my eyes get droopy.**

**Goodnight everyone and thanks for all of the views and reviews!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Fishlegs and Meatlug screamed as they fell down the vertical tunnel, theirs echoes getting louder to the ones below as they descended rapidly.

Snotlout and the twins had found each other, their tunnels coming to an end in a small aperture no bigger than the one they were held in. Multiple other tunnels could be seen surrounding them meaning the others could very well find their way here too. And Fishlegs was about to join them.

Their screams were drowned out when they hit the water, the splash reaching almost up to the ceiling of the aperture. Snotlout, Ruff and Tuff shielded their faces so that no water droplets would fly into their eyes. Despite a few sprinkles of water onto his skin, Hookfang kept his fire going, the glow keeping the place lite.

Meatlug resurfaced from the depths of the pool, her saddle empty. She looked around, worried for her rider before sensing something below and moving out of the way, flying up out of the water and landing by Hookfang.

Another dragon emerged from the pool, Thornado and his two riders as well as Fishlegs; said Viking having been caught by Stoick and was now laying in his arms looking sheepish.

"Hehe, thanks chief." Fishlegs said embarrassingly.

Thornado, Stoick and Gobber had gone down into the pool of water they found and that tunnel led them here into this room where the others were.

Looking around, Stoick noticed everyone here, all except Stormfly and Astrid.

"Where's Astrid?" he asked the teens, Thornado flying over to the ground and landing beside the twins. Fishlegs hopped off and ran over to his Meatlug.

"Here!" Astrid's voice called from one of the tunnels. Her, Stormfly and Toothless bounded around the corner, Toothless' presence shocking them all and giving hope as to his son's whereabouts.

"Toothless?! You found him?! Wh-where's Hiccup?" Stoick asked with urgency. Gobber was smiling behind him, happy to see Toothless again and hoping Hiccup was somewhere near.

Stormfly landed beside Meatlug and Fishlegs, Astrid's eyes drifting down to the ground as a frown appeared on her face.

"I don't know sir." The news sent frowns to everyone, especially Stoick. "Toothless found me in the tunnel, my guess he was following the Banshee." Astrid stated; her hand rubbed her arm, "Got to me just in time."

Toothless looked around the room, his eyes resting on each Viking for a second before moving down the line. He cooed sadly seeing his rider nowhere and began sniffing around to try and find his sent. Maybe they didn't find him yet and his was in one of these tunnels. Evidently, there was no scent of his rider anywhere.

Stoick hopped down from the saddle and approached Toothless, grabbing his chin gently and kneeling down on one knee.

"Toothless, where's my son?" Stoick asked in a soft tone, his eyes pleading for an answer. Unfortunately, so was Toothless' as his eyes were wide and glossy, ears flat against his head. Another saddened coo left his throat.

Stoick didn't need to speak dragon to know Toothless' reply. His eyes closed as a sigh escaped his lips. A hand was felt on his shoulder and he opened them again to look behind him.

"Well find him, Stoick." Gobber reassured his friend, though he too could use some optimism.

An echoing hiss from the tunnel Astrid came from caught all of their attention, Toothless growling with narrow eyes as he looked behind him.

Stoick stared down the cave with narrowed eyes as well, glancing up at Astrid as his body stiffened and his hands clenched from anger.

"Astrid," he called to her with a firm, serious tone. She acknowledged him, "You said Toothless was following the Banshee?"

"Yeah… I think." She replied. Stoick looked back down at Toothless, said Night Fury turning back around and looking up at him. Stoick placed his hand on Toothless' head and spoke with a chief's voice.

"Find my son." Toothless bared his teeth and growled, ready to burst down the tunnel. But before he did Stoick called to Astrid again.

"Astrid, will you…?" Stoick didn't need to finish the question as Astrid jumped off of Stormfly and onto Toothless' saddle. She glanced down at the stirrup, fidgeting with her foot to properly fit it into place.

"Alright, got it. Stormfly, folloooooooooow!" She didn't get to finish as Toothless took off at blazing speeds down the tunnel they just came from. Stormfly squawked and flew after her rider, the others following closely behind.

Toothless let out a sonic burst, the sound wave bouncing off of the walls and coming back to him to give an ideal image of his surroundings. Soon enough, he got an image of the Banshee resting against the cave wall. Another wave and another showed him it took off in the opposite direction, a painful screech coming from its mouth as the sonar banged loudly against its sensitive ears.

Soon enough the dark tunnel came to an end as the light of the sun shined down from the exit. The Banshee burst out of the darkness and crashed down into the trees. It slid to a stop and laid there for a while before picking its tired and weakened body up off the ground.

Shaking its head free of the ringing in its ears, the Banshee turned around and looked up at the exit tunnel. Toothless and the others came out soon after, hovering in the air for a bit before they spotted the creature below.

The Banshee roared angrily at them, if not for its enfeebled condition, it would have attacked them relentlessly. However, one against five wasn't a fair match, especially now since the Banshee was in no state to fight. It needed to rest, get its energy back. It needed to feed…

The dragon dashed off through the trees, weaving in and out of them to lose its sight of the ones following.

Toothless and the others flew above the trees, keeping their eyes out for any movement below. Soon enough the forest came to an end and the Banshee was in their sights once more. However, they became worried as the beach was nearing, and the Banshee didn't look like it was veering left or right any time soon.

Their chase continued out to sea, away from Berk and towards the horizon.

* * *

The cave was silent and dim, a faint golden glow radiating off of the cocoon Hiccup was held in. Peaking inside, the vine-like strands that touched his skin now blanketed him like a loosely woven winter coat. They pulsated to the rhythm of his heartbeat, their light shining like fireflies in the night.

Hiccup's skin was no longer pale, but now a healthy peach. However, his veins were popping out again, their dark interiors turning his skin into an organic jigsaw puzzle.

He laid peacefully unconscious, his mind blank as his body prepared to be fed on again; the vine-like strands making him act as a willing servant to the Banshee.

* * *

The Banshee neared its destination, increasing its speed to eventually lose its followers and return to its prey by itself.

Toothless and the others picked up speed as well, but they were still lagging behind a bit as the Banshee's figure became more and more obscured the further it got.

"Hurry, we're losing it!" Astrid shouted.

Fishlegs narrowed his eyes, seeing land in the distance.

"Hey, we're coming upon an island!" he announced.

"I see it!" Stoick replied. Astrid's eyes got big,

"No way," she said.

"Is that…?" Snotlout stated, but didn't finish.

"Whoa," Ruff commented.

"It looks smaller since last we were here." Tuff commented as well.

"The Banshee has Hiccup on another island?" Astrid concluded.

It didn't take Stoick long before he could depict which island it was.

"Dragon Island."

* * *

**A.N.**

**Honestly guys, I don't see this story finishing any time soon. Obviously my estimated count for the number of chapters was off, but that's good news because more chapters means awesome long story! Maybe the longest I've ever written…**

**Well we'll never know until we find out!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chaper 16**

* * *

"The Banshee has Hiccup on Dragon Island?" Astrid exclaimed, shocked at the intelligence level of this creature.

"Clever…" Fishlegs said to himself, just as astonished as Astrid and the others.

"Hey, look!" Snotlout announced, pointing ahead of them at the Banshee which was changing course. However, it wasn't the direction they expected it to go.

The Banshee began to dive, descending rapidly towards the ocean's surface. Astrid's eyes widened and she tightened her grip on Toothless' saddle.

"Come Toothless, we have to catch it!" Toothless roared with determination and sped after the thing, diving at a forty five degree angle before leveling out just above the water. He dashed ahead, gaining distance between he and the Banshee. He narrowed his eyes, seeing the fifty fifty chance at actually intersecting with the beast, and shot a plasma blast toward it.

The Blast hit the water just as the Banshee dived under, and no second later was Toothless at the same exact spot. He slowed quickly, stopping and hovering above the location of the Banshee's disappearance under the water.

Roaring once and baring his teeth, he twisted around trying to figure out where the thing went, but the water was dark and foreboding, daring him to just jump in. Doing so would hinder his speed immensely and that could be an unaffordable outcome should the Banshee be faster than he underwater. Besides, he had Astrid to think about, he was pretty sure she didn't want an early shower with freezing cold water and fish smelling "soap".

But Astrid air her frustration as equally as Toothless under the circumstances, pounding her fist against the handle of the saddle and growling rather sharply almost to a point where it stung her throat.

The other riders soon caught up with the speedy duo, flying down to their level and hovering out above the water where they stayed.

"Should we… dive down after it?" Fishlegs hesitated to ask, not really wanting to go into the ice cold sea water.

"I think it's long gone, Fishlegs." Stoick informed, a sad tone to his voice.

"How are we supposed to find Hiccup now?"

"We could do it the old fashion way." Gobber suggested.

"And that would be…?" Snotlout asked.

"Walk around the island and scream his name." Gobber replied nonchalantly.

"Gobber has a point." Stoick interfered.

"We're going to walk around the island and scream for Hiccup?" Astrid questioned, not believing that her chief was really going with that plan.

"No, we're going to find him… without the Banshee." Stoick stated firmly with high levels of determination.

"But that could take forever." Fishlegs commented, not liking the idea that his friend would have to suffer even more so than he probably already has.

"Yeah, that island's huge, granted it shrunk a little, but it's still a big place." Tuffnut added.

"What if Hiccup doesn't have enough time?" Astrid aired her thoughts; true, it wasn't something anyone wanted to think about, but nonetheless they were thinking it.

"He has enough time, the Banshee wouldn't kill him;" Stoick turned his attention towards Fishlegs, "Right Fishlegs?"

Fishlegs stiffened when he was called upon to answer. He smiled sheepishly and twiddled his fingers together.

"Uhhh…"

"Right, Fishlegs?" Stoick repeated, harsher than before.

"To be honest, sir," Fishlegs replied, shaking in his boots, "I have no idea what the Banshee's habits are when it comes to feeding."

"What about Ol' Pete, you know, Bork the Bold's friend. He got killed by the Banshee." Snotlout joined.

"Yeah, but didn't it take them forever to find his body?" Ruffnut asked.

Tuffnut gasped, "We're here to find Hiccup's body?!"

"We're not here for a recovery; we're here for a rescue!" Stoick shouted with everything we had; his raging anger showing through fully. Everyone was silent, no one wanting to test their chief any further.

"I think sitting here and chatting about it isn't going to help us find him. We should get moving."Gobber suggested, his calm voice soothing everyone, almost everyone.

The gang continued their course until they hit the beach, landing down on the sand and glancing at one another not sure of what to say. As soon as Thornado landed, Stoick took no time in laying out his orders.

"Astrid and the twins, take the east side of the island, look for any caves, crevasses or holes. Snotlout and Fishlegs, go north." Stoick quickly turned his head towards the west, his face obscured from the teens' eye sight. "Gobber and I will go west." The teens looked at each other and nodded, going their separate ways. Astrid was about to head off with the twins and Stormfly, when she was stopped by Stoick.

"Astrid," she turned her head to him. "Go on Stormfly; having Toothless on land will give us another part to help scout." Astrid nodded, hopped off of Toothless' saddle and jumped onto her own. She and the twins took off to the east leaving Toothless, Stoick, Gobber and Thornado on the beach.

Gobber rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. Stoick kept his face clear of his line of sight, obviously trying to hide something from the other.

"We'll find him Stoick. There's no need to worry." He reassured him.

"You're always the voice of reason, Gobber, but you don't understand." Stoick replied with a faint whisper. His face was the opposite of emotionless, his eyes threatening to erupt at any moment. But Vikings don't cry…

He tried to blink it away, but that only made a tear fall down his cheek.

Gobber looked down, his friend's sadness looming over to him. He patted Thornado on the side, ushering him to start moving.

"Come on Thornado, let's get moving." Thornado did as the Viking said, but he walked instead of flying, sensing his rider's distress.

He wasn't the only one as Toothless sat in the sand by himself, his head bowed as he watched Thornado carry the Vikings slowly away. He cooed as he looked up at the chief of his tribe. Yes, Toothless considered the Viking to be his chief as well. The dragons were part of their tribe, their family; it has been stated before. And family helps family… and right now Stoick needed comforting.

Toothless stood up and began to follow the Thunderdrum and the two adult Vikings, his pace no different from that of Thornado's.

* * *

The water parted and allowed the figure to crawl onto shore, the waves washing up at its legs but not deterring it in its balance.

The Banshee crawled out onto the beach, shaking the water off of its wings and skin, similar to a dog. It glanced over to its right, then its left, seeing no one around.

It let out a hiss, smiling almost as it was able to free itself from the stragglers. It lifted up its wings and flew up into the air, heading north east towards the mountain.

At the base of said mountain was a large tree whose roots were high up off the ground. The Banshee landed in front of the tree and crawled under its roots into the fairly large hole it created. Within the hole was another hole, a tunnel formed from a Whispering Death long ago.

The Banshee crawled in, flying when the tunnel grew wider and sunk down to the islands' depths. Water lay at the bottom of the labyrinth, getting there from the attack of the Screaming Death. Since its home was technically a isolated part of the labyrinth that had been cut off from the rest of the apertures due to the water, the Banshee had to dive into the pool and swim to its destination.

It burst through the surface on the other side, shaking off the water again and waltzing over to the cocoon that lay resting against the wall.

The large oval shaped cocoon was glowing, imitating the rhythm of a heartbeat, its prey's heartbeat to be precise.

The Banshee hissed, the high pitch echo lasting only a second before it disappeared into the darkness. The cocoon began to move, splitting apart down the middle and peeling opening like a slice of bread.

Hiccup lie peacefully inside, the vines on his body continuing their duties as the Banshee stepped forward and lay its body against the cocoon. As the tentacles got closer to his neck, the vines moved away, allowing the appendages to dig into the skin and extract the blood.

A small weakened groan escaped Hiccup's lips as his blood was drained from his body. His heartbeat increased and his breaths hitched. More blood was drained from his very being, perhaps too much. The Banshee kept going, sucking out more and more, beginning to get greedy from its thirst. Hiccup's breaths turned into short gasps as his heartbeat became irregular, his skin turning a ghostly pale; his organs beginning to fail and shut down.

The creature snapped out of its trance like state and pulled away from the boy. It tilted its head, listening for any sounds from his heart… but it heard none.

The boy lay still, no more sounds of his breaths were heard…

…No rhythm of his heartbeat.

* * *

**A.N.**

**I'm not going to say anything…**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 17**

* * *

The Banshee stared at the boy, waiting for him to move or hear his heart thump loudly within in his small chest. But it received no answer.

It hissed angrily at him, as if it would wake the boy from his slumber. It hissed again moving up to Hiccup and nudging his head. It limply moved, having no motion of its own.

No, no, no, no, NO! This type of blood was _rare_! A once in a _lifetime_ chance to find! And it just _killed_ him!

The Banshee roared this time, nudging Hiccup harder, but the boy did not respond. The creature looked down at the vines, they did not glow anymore for there was nothing more to do; the body wasn't active.

The Banshee hissed at the vines, acting as if it was their fault and not its own. They lay dormant on top of Hiccup, lifeless just as he was.

The creature became restless, roaring and screeching for the boy to wake, to hear his heartbeat. It let out a specific sonic scream, the same sound used to control the venom within the young Viking's precious blood. Unfortunately, it was a rude reminder, the vines that gave Hiccup nutrients could only do so by getting rid of said venom; it was a two way street. Hiccup did not move under its control, nor on his own as he remained lifeless within the open cocoon.

Suddenly, the Banshee stopped fussing around when its sensitive ears picked up a sound.

The aperture was silent, no light or noise was heard.

_Thump thump_

There it was again… a heartbeat.

The Banshee stood absolutely still.

_Thump_

Another beat, but only one.

Silence…

_Thump thump_

The Banshee kept quiet.

_Thump thump_

_Thump thump_

The beating stopped again…

More silence…

_Thump_

_Thump thump_

_Thump thump_

_Thump thump_

_Thump thump_

One of Hiccup's fingers twitched slightly, drawing the Banshee's attention down to it for a split second before the beast returned its gaze upon the boy's face. His eyes lids tightened, his head turning to the side only a mere centimeter. Hiccup's stomach began to rise and fall rapidly, his breaths sounding like hiccups as a moan escaped almost each time.

The Banshee used its head to nudge Hiccup's head up so that the boy could get air. Seeing his exposed neck made the urge to feed off of him once more barely irresistible, but it knew he needed to regain his strength is he was to continue living, and continue to feed it.

Much to the Banshee's happiness, the vines all over Hiccup began to glow again, matching the rhythm of his heartbeat just like before. They began their nutriments again to get the boy healthy enough for the Banshee to feed.

After Hiccup's breaths became even again, the Banshee left the cocoon, it closing shut and sealing back up. The beast climbed up to the ceiling and hung off of it upside down, wings moving to cover its face like a bat. It closed its eyes, listening to the sound of Hiccup's heartbeat as it fell into a slumber.

* * *

Thornado never speed up his pace, nor attempted to fly as his rider made no move to change how they were going about their transportation. Stoick seemed off in his own world, and anyone could tell it wasn't a very pleasant state of mind. His eyes rested on the saddle reigns his hands held onto, mouth glued into a heavy frown. But his eyes told the entire story, they weren't big and wide, but small and thin, blinking slowly and shining with glossy tears.

Gobber knew how his friend felt, perhaps not entirely, but in the general sense, yes. Hiccup was like a son to him as well; all those years he helped out in the forge, the times when he would change little Hiccup's diapers, the moments were Gobber would make the young boy's tears stop when he pulled on his own beard and made a funny face. In essence, Gobber was like Hiccup's godfather.

Said Viking lifted his head up when he sensed something following them, turning around he looked behind him and saw what, or who, it was.

"Uh, Stoick…" he spoke, killing the silence between them, "We have a follower." He informed. Stoick finally lifted his head up from the saddle reigns and turned around as well, stopping Thornado in his tracks.

Toothless cooed as he continued to walk, now since Thornado and the two Vikings stopped, he was slowly making his way up to them.

He cooed again as he paused and sat down beside Stoick, his eyes looking up into the chief's. Said chief smiled a bit and held out his hand, Toothless taking it and resting his snout into the Viking's palm.

Gobber leaned in closer to Stoick's ear and whispered, "I believe that's his way of saying, cheer up!" he exclaimed happily the last bit. To agree to this, Toothless removed himself from the hand and sneezed playfully, giving the two a goofy smile.

Stoick chuckled, "Alright Toothless, if you can have faith in Hiccup, then so can I." he said with a new found confidence and determination.

* * *

**A.N.**

**To be honest, I was planning to add more to this chapter, but seem to be stuck in mud. In order to calm all of your nerves about Hiccup's death, I just uploaded what I already had. Small chapter, but then again you see those a lot in books.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Astrid sighed as she tapped her fingers against her arm which was crossed with the other over her chest. She rolled her eyes before glancing again over by the tree where Tuffnut was fiddling behind.

"Come on Tuffnut," she announced again, annoyed at the teen's immaturity.

"Stop rushing me, I need to find a good spot!" Tuffnut hollered back, his voice trailing out from behind the large tree trunk.

"You're just peeing, pick a spot and go!" Astrid yelled at him.

"I can't go when you're looking!" Tuffnut shouted back.

"I can't even see you!" Astrid replied.

"St—it's complicated!"

"You're just going to the bathroom! How complicated can it get?! Hiccup could be dying right now and were sitting here held up because of your weak bladder!"

"I can't pee if you're yelling at me!"

Astrid growled, turning around and stomped back to their dragons. Ruffnut was sitting on Barf while waiting for her brother to finish his business.

"Is he done yet?" She asked, getting bored from the lack of excitement.

"No," Astrid replied harshly, only because of Tuffnut's incompetence. Ruff sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.

"How long does it take this kid to pee?" Astrid asked.

"I don't know; one time it took him fifteen minutes." Ruff replied nonchalantly. Astrid just looked at her with disbelief. "Heck, even sometimes he has to sing to himself just to get it all out."

"Alright, too much information;" Astrid stopped her, holding her hands up in front of her.

"You asked," Ruffnut replied with a smirk.

Tuffnut came walking up to them, catching their attention. As he looked up, he noticed their glares.

"What?" he asked, clearly clueless to the reasons behind their apparent anger.

"You took almost ten minutes!" Astrid yelled at him.

"You can't rush those kinds of things!"

"Ten minutes!" Astrid yelled.

Ruffnut sighed again as the two began arguing back and forth about the unusual topic.

* * *

The cave was silent as the Banshee slept peacefully from the ceiling. It almost looked like a harmless overgrown dragon-bat, but that appearance changed when its' dark, black eyes burst open. It unfolded its wings and jumped down, landing with a soft thud. The creature tilted its head so that its one ear was pointing towards the exit tunnel. Though nothing could be heard, this was not the case for the Banshee's sensitive hearing.

Voices… loud and high, low and dull; they weren't dragons that's for sure.

The Banshee narrowed its eyes and growled, knowing very well that they belonged to the Vikings, the very ones that escaped and followed it here to this island. They were persistent, should they actually be able to find the Banshee's cave, they'd make an attempt to free its prey. Though the possibility of them succeeding is next to impossible, the Banshee did not like disturbances, or someone intruding on its territory.

It took a quick glance at the cocoon, the glows within pulsating, and then dashed off to the pool at the end of the small aperture.

* * *

Gobber and Stoick were now traveling on foot, walking with Thornado and Toothless as they covered ground slowly. They had found a few caves, went inside and discovered nothing but dead ends. Deciding that flying around in the open was going to attract unwanted attention, Stoick had them walk the rest of the day. That and Toothless couldn't fly, Gobber didn't want to ride him saying he'd be too fast, and Thornado was getting restless, shaking Stoick around too much and making his stomach queasy.

The four were walking through a thick patch of flora when Toothless stopped in his tracks, crouched low to the ground and growled; his gaze reaching past what they could see up ahead.

"Toothless, what's wrong?" Stoick asked the black dragon. Of course Toothless didn't respond, but he did begin to bare his teeth and narrow his eyes. Gobber perked up when his ears picked up on something.

"Wait, Stoick; do you hear that?" he asked, his question silencing his friend as he too listened for any distinct noises. When Stoick picked up on the sound his eyes widened.

"Wings…?" he stated. No soon after he said this, a roar followed, but not just any roar, a screech.

Both Vikings dropped to the ground upon hearing the scream, looking up past the tree tops to see if they could spot the beast, and hope that it didn't know they were there. Not seeing anything, Stoick and Gobber crept forward, peeking out from behind a bush and looking out into a semi open field beside a cliff with a giant tree planted on the far end.

Up in the sky, the Banshee flew away, disappearing as fast as they could spot it behind the leaves.

"…The Banshee…" Stoick whispered to himself. After watching the creature leave his eyes darted down to the giant tree on the far end of the small field. Its roots were sticking out of the ground, creating a small hole underneath; and this is what caught his attention.

"Gobber," Stoick tapped his friend's shoulder and pointed at the tree. "Look."

Gobber narrowed his eyes, but otherwise saw it; "A hole?"

"That's gotta be it, Hiccup's gotta be in there." Stoick breathed out, sounding like he'd just run a marathon. This was partially true as his heart began beating faster at the slight possibility that he was going to finally find his son.

"Under a tree?" Gobber questioned the scene.

"What other choice do we have Gobber?"

Gobber sighed and began to follow, Thornado following him. Toothless stood where he was, sniffing around and glaring up at the sky for the Banshee. His body was stiff and alert; he followed the other three after fully evaluating his surroundings.

The hole under the tree was dark, a thick shadow being casted on Stoick as he and Gobber ducked and ventured in. They scanned the area, their eyes trying to adjust to the darkness.

"I don't see anything Stoick; there's nothing here." Gobber informed him. Stoick was about to agree with him before his eyes made out a darker form ahead. It was flat against the ground, round and ominous.

"Gobber…" Stoick waved his hand and motioned Gobber over to him. They both walked up to the form, figuring out that it wasn't in fact anything alive, but a hole in the ground.

Toothless came in and walked up to the hole, sniffing it a bit before growled at the scent of the Banshee. Then his nose picked up another sent, his thin slit pupils growing large and wide. He roared and jumped down into the dark depths.

Stoick and Gobber glanced at one another.

"I guess we're going down then." Gobber stated.

* * *

The hole almost reminded Stoick of their well back on Berk, where Hiccup fell and got stuck in with Toothless. He was more than willing to go in and get his son out, but Hiccup had insisted otherwise. This wasn't the case; there was no well or echoing voice from below telling him to stay up there, that he'd find another way out. Stoick had a gut feeling that Hiccup was down here, where exactly, he had no idea, but in general, his son was here.

He and Gobber were sitting on Thornado's back while the dragon carefully hovered down the narrow vertical hole. The bottom was lite with a blue-ish purple glow, Toothless having already fired a plasma blast at one of the rocks. Said dragon was sniffing around trying to pinpoint the scent of his rider.

Thornado landed down onto the rocky surface and his two riders jumped off.

"How far down are we?" Gobber asked, glancing around, seeing how the place looked like the island's labyrinth core.

Toothless' body stiffened again as he picked up the scent of his Hiccup, dashing forward down the tunnel and disappearing into the darkness. His roars could only be heard as his echolocation sonar could not.

"Come on Gobber," Stoick ushered his friend along. They spent the next half hour traveling through darkness and water, Toothless nowhere in sight… literally. They eventually found the dragon, once again rubbing his nose on the ground. It was a small aperture, a fairly large pool sitting off the center; Toothless sniffing around its rim.

The scents stopped at the pool, but his Hiccup wasn't there. Toothless cooed sadly, looking up and glancing both left and right before walking over to Stoick and Gobber who was kneeling down by the water.

"You don't think…?" Gobber began.

"I wonder." Stoick said. He stood up, and motioned over Thornado, hoping onto the saddle and helping Gobber up.

"Alright boy, take us down." Stoick commanded. Thornado roared and dived down into the water, a large splash following their disappearance.

Toothless took one last glance at the tunnel they came from before diving in after the others. On the other side, Toothless walked slowly out of the water, shaking himself free of the liquid falling off of his scales. But soon his body stiffened as he saw what lay in front of him, Stoick and Gobber mimicking his body language.

The floor was covered with the white web-like strands they had encountered in their own prison, but what glued their eyes still and wide was the glowing cocoon that lay resting against the wall. The pulsating glow lite the room with each beat, a form casting a shadow from within its layers. A small body lay still within and Stoick could only guess who it was.

"Hiccup…" he whispered, but his voice echoed throughout the small aperture.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Yeah, I would have updated this sooner, but I was spending my time freaking out about the HTTYD2 trailer. Oh it was EPIC!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 19**

* * *

"Hiccup…" Stoick's whisper echoed throughout the whole aperture. He took no time picking up his feet and running over to the cocoon, Toothless nearly plowing into him. Said dragon began roaring and scratching the cocoon walls in an attempt to get his Hiccup out, but the scratches did nothing.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted, his hands on the cocoon. "Son!"

"Can you hear me?!" Stoick's voice was no more than a muffle, though the words could be heard clearly, they seemed far away.

Toothless roared again and continued his scratching before ending up trying to bite the thing. Gobber stood beside Stoick and hit his metal hook off of the cocoon getting a clanking noise.

"How do you suppose we get this thing open Gobber?" Stoick asked his friend.

"Uh, well assuming Toothless isn't going to be able do much more to this thing, I think we should try blasting it." Gobber replied back. Stoick, who was now leaning down on the side of the cocoon and peering in at the form of his son, from which the light shone, looked up at him with fear and disapproval.

"Blast it? What if we hurt him?" his voice almost cracked. Gobber didn't reply to him, but shrugged his shoulders in saying there was nothing else they could do. Stoick glanced again at the cocoon before stepping back with his Viking friend and directing his attention to Toothless.

"Toothless," Said Night Fury halted his clawing and looked up at the older Viking.

"Plasma blast." Stoick ordered; him and Gobber stepping back a little further after Toothless charged up his blast. A sizzling echo bounced off of the cave walls as the blast gained power within the dragon's mouth, shooting through the small space and towards the cocoon within a matter of milliseconds. Stoick and Gobber shielded their eyes as the blast hit, knowing very well not to look at Toothless' plasma blasts or else they'd go blind.

After the cave settled, and the light from the blast died, the Vikings and dragons glanced once more at the cocoon. Not a single crack on its' exterior.

Toothless roared angrily before blasting more plasma, the Vikings barely able to cover their eyes in time.

"Toothless! Too—okay Toothless, stop! Stop!" Stoick shouted. The fireworks dulled after their own quit firing; Toothless sat down on his butt and cooed sadly. He sat back up and crawled over to the side of the cocoon, peering inside at the shadowed form of his little Hiccup.

"It didn't work," Gobber announced gloomy before his face lite up with an idea.

"Hold on, why didn't I think of this before?" he questioned himself.

"What?"

"Our saliva, that's how we got out. What are the odds that cocoon isn't made of the same material?"

Stoick glanced over at Toothless, "High apparently," he informed as he pointed at Toothless. He was biting the cocoon again, his saliva spewing all over the surface, but nothing the outer shell resisted breaking.

"Oh," Gobber admitted defeat. "Then how do you suppose the Banshee gets to him?"

Stoick glanced back at his dragon, hearing him silently roar as he always did. That's when a thought came to him.

"Thornado is a vocalized dragon, as are all of the Thunderdrums."

"Yeah, what's that gotta do with anything?"

"The Banshee is a vocalized dragon too, what if this _thing_ opens to sound." Stoick was on to something.

"Voice activation? That seems pretty sophisticated even for a dragon." Gobber commented. "But, we don't seem to have any other leads so, let's do it." Gobber chimed.

Stoick nodded at him and turned his attention to his dragon, "Thornado…" he pointed to the cocoon and stepped back. Knowing exactly what his rider wanted, Thornado roared at the sheath, his echoing blast cutting into the cocoon's outer shell and making a small crack.

Stoick and Gobber's eyes widened at the sight.

"It's working!"

"Keeping going Thornado!" Stoick pushed. Toothless observed the sight before him and noticed how Thornado was only able to make small cracks, none enough for them to open the thing. He narrowed his green eyes, a thought coming to him. Before Stoick and Gobber could blink, the Night Fury opened his mouth and sounded his echolocation at the cocoon, his sonar combining with Thornado's roar.

The cocoon cracked from the top down to the bottom, splitting it down the middle. The sound from the dragons stopped and the Vikings uncovered their ears. Stoick and Gobber rushed over to it, Stoick grabbing both ends and pulling them apart.

The pulsating light wasn't bright, but it did bother their eyes enough for them having to squint a little.

Hiccup lay still within the cocoon, the vines coating his small body like a blanket. On each orb of light were multiple tiny fellers that attached onto his skin. They injected tryptophan into his blood stream as well as baclofen and flurazepam. Hiccup's body was still, limp and pale; his chest rising and falling slowly as his mind was submerged in darkness.

"Hiccup…" Stoick whispered again as he gazed upon his son.

"What are those things?" Gobber asked, just as clueless as all the others.

Toothelss placed his paws on the edge of the left cocoon, being on Hiccup's right as he peered inside, sniffed his rider and cooed at him.

Stoick reached inside, as his hands came closer to Hiccup, the vines retracted away. He lifted him up and out of the cocoon, some of the vines still attached to his skin as they continued to pulsate to the rhythm of his heartbeat. A few were on his forehead, spanning out to his temples and down the side of his face. Some were on his neck, traveling over to the back and down the spine. His wrist sported a few, the vines crawling out onto the back of his hands and up his arms. There were a couple on his stomach and some more on his legs, but he majority of them were located on his chest.

It was strange; the vines almost looked like veins. Stoick took a closer look at them, seeing how they were literally attached to Hiccup and realized it wouldn't be such a good idea to just rip them out. Now that they had him back, they best thing to do was to get out of the cave, find the others and get back to Berk where Gothi can have a look at him.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Stoick said firmly, cradling Hiccup in his arms. Toothless gazed upon his rider, cooing every so often. He bowed his head and touched his snout with Hiccup's dangling hand, nudging it a bit.

"Come on, Toothless." Gobber said as he left with Stoick and jumped onto Thornado's saddle. Stoick sat in the back with Hiccup in his arms as Gobber took the reigns.

"You know how to do this?" Stoick asked his friend, wanting to be sure of a safe trip back.

"Of course, how hard could it be?" Thornado jerked around and pulled against Gobber's resistance.

"Stubborn guy ain't he; you can definitely tell whose dragon it is." Gobber commented as they trotted forward towards the pool.

"Gobber!" Gobber let out a joyful laugh before Thornado dived into the water, not quite yet going under.

Stoick brought his hand up to Hiccup's nose, ready to block the entrance so the water would get in.

"We'll be home soon, Hiccup; I promise." He whispered to him.

* * *

**A.N.**

**I got a little scientific in this chapter what will those chemicals and stuff. In case you guys don't know what they are I will tell you.**

**Tryptophan**** is an amino acid that's a constituent of most proteins.**

**Baclofen**** is a drug that causes drowsiness.**

**Flurazepam**** is a drug that causes dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, staggering, in-coordination and falling.**

**Other than that, thank you all for the reviews and views, favorites, and followers. I'm guessing I still have the occasional typo here and there so apologies for missing any.**

**Goodnight and read ya tomorrow**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 20**

* * *

Ruffnut continued listening to her brother and Astrid arguing, sighing as time seemed to slow and her butt began to ache from sitting for a long time.

"Can we please get on with our search, I'm getting tired of watching you guys." She complained.

"Yes, we can; as soon as Astrid apologies." Tuffnut said crossing his arms and looking away with his eyes closed.

"Apologize?! For what?" Astrid exclaimed.

"For being mean and yelling at me."

Astrid sighed with irritation and rolled her eyes. Their small lapse of silence was over taken when a sound came from the bushes. They quickly shushed each other and listened.

"What is it?" Tuff asked, stepping back towards his dragon, Astrid doing the same.

"I don't know." Astrid replied.

The bush began to rattle more as something moved about. The teens almost jumped into a defensive position until they realized who it was.

They all sighed with relief as Hookfang and Snotlout came out of the bush.

"It's just Snotlout." Astrid said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Ruff criticized. Astrid sent a glare towards her.

"Why are you guys so quiet?" Snotlout asked.

"We thought you were something else." Astrid replied to him. Meatlug flew out of the bush seconds after Astrid spoke, landing down beside Hookfang and glancing up at her rider whose head was smoking a bit.

"Fishlegs, what happened to you?" Astird asked, concerned for her friend since he looked a bit chared.

"Ask… Snotlout…" he breathed, a dangerous tone of anger building up within his throat. Astrid and the twins glanced over at said Viking.

Snotlout snorted, "We ran into some dragons."

"_We_? More like _you_ and _I_ got the brunt of it!" Fishlegs corrected.

"Terrible Terrors." Snotlout informed.

"A **lot** of Terrible Terrors." Fishlegs corrected again.

Astrid shook her head at the two, her hands on her hips and a smirk plastered on her face. Her smiled instantly vanished, though, when she saw something through the brush Fishlegs and Snotlout just came out of. Along with the twins, her face paled and her body stiffened as her eyes widened in fear.

"Fishlegs, Snotlout," she whispered, backing up to the side of Stormfly; "Turn around slowly."

"What, why?" Snotlout asked with a booming voice and turned around quickly. What faced him only inches away wasn't something he'd like to see. He and Fishlegs muffled a scream as they immediately backed up to Astrid and the twins.

"I said slowly." Astrid restated.

The Banshee crept out of the bush and slithered closer to the teens and their dragons, not once making a move to stop. The dragons kept backing up, making sure to keep the distance between them and the Bashee. The beast had a murderous look in its black eyes, staring the teens down, every single one of them.

"What do we do?" Fishlegs whimpered.

The Banshee stopped advancing towards them and the dragons stopped backing up.

"Maybe if we don't make a move, it won't see us." Tuffnut suggested. They all froze in their spots but the Banshee still looked at them.

"That's not how it works!" Snotlout exclaimed stridently. The Banshee shrieked and dashed after them; the teens flew and scattered. Their chase ascended up into the sky and towards the shore line before the Banshee gave up and headed back.

"Wait, where's it going?" Astrid asked, turning her and Stormfly around to hover as they watched the Banshee fly away.

"Hey, it's running away." Ruffnut observed.

"More like flying away." Tuffnut corrected her.

"Let's chase it!"

"Yeah!" Tuffnut agreed to his sister's suicide. They turned their Zippleback around and started fly after the Banshee. Said dragon screeched and looped around coming back towards the twins. The twins screamed and Barf and Belch immediately did a U-turn, flying back to Astrid and the others. The Banshee was nearly on them before it flew upwards and turned back around.

Fishlegs' confused eyes brightened with realization.

"I get it now!" he exclaimed happily.

"What is it, Fishlegs?" Astrid asked.

"We were in the Banshee's territory. That's why it won't attack us any further." He explained.

"What are you talking about, that thing attacked us many times on Berk and no territory line stopped it." Snotlout challenged him.

"That's because Berk isn't its territory. It must have just had a cave to hide out in." Fishlegs replied.

"Wait, so if this is its territory, then that means Hiccup can't be too far away." Astrid concluded. "Come on, we have to go find him!" she exclaimed, but before her and the others could start moving, Stoick's voice called out to them.

"No need." Stoick and Thornado flew down to hover alongside the other dragons and the teens. Following him was Gobber and Toothless, the two having a bit of difficulty since Gobber wasn't exactly use to riding dragons or controlling Hiccup's stirrup.

The kids gaped at the sight of their friend, lifeless in Stoick's arms. They also noticed how there was stuff on his face, neck and hands; and they were glowing.

"We have to get back to Berk quickly." Stoick said sternly.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Okay, I'm looking at this story being around 30-35 chapters long. I may or may not start my next story before this one ends, but we'll have to see how things go with writing.**

**In case anyone hasn't read the summary off of my profile, below is another one summary and a sneak peak.**

**I've uploaded a drawing I received from RazzlePazzleDooDot for the story's cover image. It shows some detailed sketches of the Banshee, but I'll be replacing it with another of hers' so all thanks goes to RazzlePazzleDooDot.**

**_Night Fury Down_**

**_Summary_****_:_**

**_After a Berserker bombardment, Toothless gets hit by an arrow and goes down on Dragon Island. With his condition proving to be serious, Hiccup does what he can to save his best friend from the hands of Dagur the Deranged while trying to avoid the teen's revenge at the same time._**

**_Sneak peak of Night Fury Down  
_**

**_Hiccup fell to the ground beside Toothless' weak form, landing on his knees while clutching the gash on his left arm. Toothless' breaths were ragged, his eyes too weak to open and gaze upon his rider be for him._**

**_Hiccup equally inhaled and exhaled rapidly, the run he made tiring him out to the brink of collapsing. But he couldn't rest now, Dagur was coming; he was sure it wouldn't be that easy to get away from him and his armada._**

**_Toothless made an effort to coo, but the noise came out with a painful hiss as Toothless' lung couldn't take the pressure. A tear escaped Hiccup's eyes and he laid a hand on his friend's head. It pained him greatly to see his friend in this condition, and the medicine given to him wasn't helping that much. If he didn't do something quick, Dagur was going to show up and do the unthinkable._**

**_ "They can't find you, Toothless." He whispered with more tears falling down his cheeks. Hiccup looked down at his arm, the wound had made a trail on the ground marking his path to this exact spot and sure enough Dagur was going to follow it._**

**_Hiccup closed his eyes and staggered up onto his tired legs; his ears rang and his vision began to blacken at the edges, a tall tell sign that he was about to pass out. His hand left Toothless' head as he left his friend's side._**

**_"I'm sorry bud." He said before retracing his steps far enough back so Dagur wouldn't find Toothless and only him._**

**_It didn't take long before Hiccup fell back down to the ground. His vision swam a million miles and his knees gave out sending his body down onto his back. Though he could still hear the ringing in his ears, it didn't block out the sound of footprints coming towards him._**

**_Dagur chuckled upon seeing Hiccup falling down, barely conscious. He smirked as he noticed his "brother's" eyes were open just a crack. Kneeling down, he whispered something into Hiccup's ear._**

**_"Thanks for the Night Fury." Was what Hiccup heard before passing out._**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 21**

* * *

The Banshee flew up and out of the pool, shaking itself off before starting to walk over to the cocoon. He froze in its tracks as it heard nothing, no heartbeat from the boy, and rushed over only to stop in front of the sheath, eyes wide and taken back.

The cocoon was open, no boy lay inside, none of the vines were glowing with pulses—at least from the vines that were left behind—and no food for the Banshee.

The beast let out a deep growl then screeched angrily into the cave atmosphere. The scream echoed out into the forests of Dragon Island.

* * *

Hiccup lay on his bed upstairs in his room. His father stood beside his bed, along with Gobber who stood beside him, and Hiccup's friends all placed themselves wherever amongst the room. Gothi leaned in closer to Hiccup's temple, tapping at the vine that had attached itself there.

"What are those things?" Astrid asked, standing at the end of the bed.

"And why are they glowing?" Fishlegs added, standing by Hiccup's desk.

"They seem to be glowing to the rhythm of his heart. Why? I do not know." Gobber replied.

"What do they do?" Astrid asked another question the adults could not answer.

"Gothi should be able to figure that one out, hopefully soon." Said woman sent a glare at Gobber, scolding him for his impatience. She walked back over to Hiccup's desk where she sat her satchel and some wooden bowls. Fishlegs stepped out of the way as she came over, watching her as a small chunk of the vine Gobber and Stoick got from the cocoon was mixed in with a bowl filled with some type of medicine. She walked back over to the bed and scooped a small amount into a spoon before pouring the substance onto one of the glowing vine heads. It stopped glowing, short circuiting almost as it died out. The effect journeyed to the other vine heads as all of them were connected to one another. The vines on Hiccup's body soon died and ceased their actions.

Hiccup's eyes burst open and he shot up, leaning forward in his bed as a gasped escaped his lips. He began to breathe rapidly as if he was holding it in for too long. His sudden awakening frightened the teens and the adults at first, but after recovering they were quick to help him stay up in his bed before falling back down against the pillow.

Hiccup's glossy eyes darted around the room before landing on Gothi and then swinging over to his father. Gothi put the bowl down on his nightstand and walked back over to grab something from her satchel on the desk.

Stoick grabbed his son's arms and brought him into a hug, the rest of the teens airing their relief.

"Hiccup," Astrid breathed with relief.

"Oh Thor, you had us worried." Fishlegs added.

"That was crazy." Snotlout commented.

"You just like came straight up." Tuffnut joined.

"He looks dizzy." Ruffnut observed. Her comment caught everyone's attention and Stoick let go to examine his son's face.

It was still pale and his eyes seemed distant. He moaned and closed them, clutching his head as he was losing balance and his head began to get heavy.

"Easy, Hiccup." Stoick said as he held onto him, his hands firmly at his chest and back to stabilize his balance. He leaned him back against the bed and brought his pillow up.

"Dad…" Hiccup's voice was hoarse and soft. By this time, Gothi was back over by his bed side with a tankard of water and some tweezers. She handed him the water and he weakly grabbed it, tipping it at his lips and drinking the cool liquid. She waited till he was done before starting to take off the vines. It wasn't too painful, just a little prick every now and then; the numbness his body was still experiencing from the vines helping out a lot.

"Where's Toothless?" He asked, his voice still a little raw but otherwise better from the water.

"He's downstairs." Stoick answered him, glancing up at Astrid who nodded her head and whistled down the stairs. Seconds later, said black dragon came up the steps and glanced around in the room until his eyes lay on Hiccup. His head perked up and his eyes widened with excitement, bouncing on over to his rider before settling down and coming to a stop by his bed side. He licked his face and earned a smile and giggle, cooing happily to have his rider back and safe. The kids laughed as well and so did Gobber and Stoick.

"How do you feel?" Stoick asked, happier now that the mood had changed to a brighter one. It was evident that Hiccup seemed more focused now, but no one could assume that he still didn't feel like crap.

He moaned again, "Horrible…" but then Hiccup smiled up at his father. "But I'll live."

"I think this calls for a celebration. Why don't we head on over to the Great Hall for a feast." Gobber announced. The teens smiled and nodded at one another, Stoick shook his head yes and Hiccup gaped at him with pure excitement. He hadn't eaten in so long…

"Oh good, I'm starving." Hiccup commented with a smiled, then his smile vanished as Gothi pulled off another vine.

"Ouch."

"Why don't we hold off until we get all of those things off of you." Stoick suggested; Hiccup nodded in agreement.

* * *

By the time Hiccup was checked out of Gothi's care, his stomach had been fighting with him, seeming extremely hungry and at the same time ready to eject all of its contents. Hiccup had to stop himself on more than one occasion from running to the Great Hall due to his legs still not use to walking and his head which would swim if he was too active.

They came into the Great Hall no soon after Hiccup was clear to go, though. Toothless bounding beside him, the two of them, followed by Stoick and the others, walked into the Great Hall only to be meet with the whole population of Berk, hands up and cheering for his arrival as if it was his birthday.

"Hiccup!"

"Welcome back Hiccup!"

"Good to see you Hiccup!"

The young Viking was taken back a bit from all the cheers and attention as the crowd grew around him with smiles, laughter, and friendly faces.

Stoick pushed through them and place a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Alright, alright, let us pass so he can eat. We all know he needs it right now. Can't have him getting any skinner than he already is." The chief said as he led Hiccup off towards the food prepared especially for him and Toothless. The crowd giggled and chuckled at Stoick joke and returned to their last positions whether it be crowding around the round table where Stoick, Hiccup, Gobber and the other… more or less important Vikings ate (the high council… I don't know, that's sort of how I view them) or returning to their seats.

Hiccup was awestruck at all of the bread and fish and chicken and turkey and… well basically all of the food on the large rectangular table. His mouth was watering from just looking at it all! And his stomach would not settle down as its growls could very much be mistaken as a dragon's roar.

He grabbed a fish kabob and waved it over in front of Toothless' face.

"Bon appetite, Toothless." He said with a loving smile. Toothless followed the kabob before engulfing the whole thing into his mouth and swallowing it whole.

"You better not throw up any of that onto my lap later on." He joked. Toothless licked his chaps and hiccuped before smacking his lips and digging into the rest of the fish given to him.

Hiccup laughed at the sight of him and began eating himself. And boy, did he love it!

* * *

**A.N.**

**There we go, sort of like a Christmas oriented chapter! Happy times, happy days! Happy Christmas everyone!**

**Don't think we're out of this yet! There's still more to come and I may or may not be able to upload the new story. I think this one is ending soon, though I had thought it to last at least 30 chapters… I guess not… well, maybe. I don't know, Merry Christmas everyone!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 22**

* * *

The sea was more than sinister at night, the blackness that dwelled at the bottom of its depths reaching up and blanketing the surface. The only source of light that could be seen on the ocean was the reflection of the Berk's lights as they glowed from the street torches and sea stack totems. Most of the houses weren't lite, however, as their residence all took part in the celebration that was held within the walls of the Great Hall. People cheered, feasted, talked and laughed; all of them were having a good time. But no one was happier than Hiccup and his family.

Stoick was more than relieved to finally have his son back safe and sound; to have him full of health and smiling again; to have him eating again instead of being fed on. He hated the sight of Hiccup injured or unconscious due to an injury. Pained filled eyes or unusual behavior frightened him; Hiccup was his only son, the hope and heir to their tribe, the last piece he had from his wife. Oh, there was so much about him that resembled her; he even had her eyes…

Stoick smiled at the thought, standing up with the others as they held out their tankards and cheered.

"To Hiccup!" someone started.

"To Hiccup!" the rest of the tribe shouted in unison.

Hiccup's face began to blush from all of the praise and attention. It was times like these that he felt closest to his people.

"To my son," Stoick said, sitting down—along with the others—and stealing a hug from Hiccup.

"Thanks dad," Hiccup replied, hugging his father back with great joy and sitting back down in his chair at his father' right at the round table. More food was placed on the tables and despite the fact that Hiccup had already pigged out, he was still hungry and ready for more. Especially that tasty looking smoked cod.

He wasn't the only one to lay eyes on the delicious fish as Toothless' head popped up from below the table and sniffed the food lying amongst the people. Of course he wouldn't go on a rampage and dive into the Viking's food, which would be so uncivilized of him… even if he was a dragon. Toothless knew his manners and respected what he could eat and what the Vikings could eat. And right now that delicious smoked cod was his rider's; he needed it and Toothless could tell the boy lost a lot of weight, weight he didn't need to lose. He didn't exactly look all skin and bones, but you could tell he wasn't ninety pounds anymore. Hopefully that would change by the time the night was over.

Hiccup giggled at Toothless as he cooed, his snout moved as he sniffed the food on the table. He reached out and grabbed two smoked cod, one for him and one for Toothless.

"Here you go bud." He said, throwing the fish in the air and allowing Toothless to catch in. One swallow and the fish was gone, down the Night Fury's throat and into his pit of despair, and left over fish which sometimes would get barfed back up.

Hiccup turned his attention back over to his own food, picking up his fork and proceeding to cut a piece off and eat it. Suddenly, his head began to swim and his vision blackened at the edges. He slowly placed the fork back down on the table and stared off into space as he waited for the lightheaded feeling to pass. He breathed in and out, the soothing comfort of oxygen getting into his lungs releasing him of the darkening feeling.

Stoick looked back down at Hiccup, his smile and uplifted features on his face turning opposite as Hiccup sat still, eyes gazing into nothingness.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" he asked him, his right hand gently grasping his son's shoulder.

Hiccup blinked his eyes into focus and shook his head a little.

"Yeah," he replied as if exhausted. "I just got lightheaded there for a second."

Stoick's brows knotted as a thought came to his mind, concern stitched across his features.

"Take it easy if you have to." He replied.

"I'm fine dad, really." Hiccup smiled up at him, trying to help ease his father's worry. It was easy to tell, the man was so overprotective of him. Besides, it was just a little lightheaded feeling.

* * *

The night had to end sometime and the crowd within the Great Hall had to go home and get some rest. Many waves and wishes for good nights were exchanged amongst the people as they filed out and journeyed on home.

Hiccup and his friends parted ways at the door, a series of good nights were given and Hiccup waved them on home.

"Good night you guys." He replied to them, waving a little embarrassingly as Astrid shot him a look he hasn't seen for a while. That sparkle in her eyes and the smile, he was half surprised she didn't punch him in the arm and then kiss his lips. Oh well, perhaps for another day…

Toothless came up from behind and cooed at him, more than ready to go home and finally get some rest. Hiccup patted his head and waved him to follow.

"Come on, bud." He said as they walked down the stairs and turned right to their house. Through the door and up the steps, Hiccup climbed into his bed and adjusted his pillow and blanket. Toothless lumbered on over to his rock bed, curling around and heating it up with some fire before laying down and letting out a big huff while closing his eyes.

"Good night, Toothless." Hiccup said, "See ya in the morning." He finished with a yawn before shutting his eyes and going to sleep.

* * *

The beast landed down on the sand that littered the beach, the moonlight casting its shadow across the grain. It crawled up to the rock edge and then began making its way up, body close to the stone as its talons did all the work.

* * *

Toothless' ears perked up before his eyes shot open. He lifted up his head and looked around, curiosity on his face. Didn't he hear something?

He glanced over at his rider and noticed his arm was against the nightstand. He must have accidently hit it while turning over.

He snorted before going back to sleep.

_Humans, that's why you curl up when you sleep,_

* * *

The Banshee continued its' climbed up to the wooden defense tower that held a catapult. It sat on top of it all and peered out at the village. Its gaze landed on a house over on the hill, right next to those long steps that lead up to two large double doors.

It hissed before flying off.

* * *

Toothless' head bolt up again, his ears straight and eyes wide. He heard it again, and he was sure it wasn't Hiccup this time. He kept on listened, but when he didn't hear anything he figured it was just a bird or one of the dragons having a late night snack; probably a Gronckle.

However, Toothless' suspicions would not rest and his mind stayed active for at least another hour or so. Sleep wasn't going to be coming anytime soon for the poor Night Fury.

* * *

**A.N.**

**Sorry to the delay on this chapter. There was so many "where should I take this?" and "I don't really know what should happen next." But finally, last night I came up with a great scene and am adding it in. That happens in the next chapter, and it might be a long one with all of the detail, but I think I'm seeing this story to be close to 30 chapters. That's just my guess, my assumptions are all over the place if you couldn't tell, lol.**

**Thanks again for the reviews guys! This is the most I've ever had! And I really couldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you readers. The main reason I continue to update is because of the reviews I get, I'm always excited to read them!**

**Next chapter will be up hopefully tomorrow, at my latest convenience. Thank you!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 23**

* * *

It was early in the afternoon, and the sun was full in the cloudless, blue sky. Stoick walked up to the front door of the village's healer, Gothi's house. The trek would have been tiresome for him, but thanks to Thornado, why walk when you can fly?

He knocked on the door and waited, not having to wait for too long as seconds later he was greeted by the women he wanted to see. She motioned him to come in as she returned to her table to continue her work. On the table were the vines that came with Hiccup back to Berk.

"Gothi, I've come for help. I'm very worried about Hiccup; last night during the celebration he got lightheaded." Stoick began. "Now I know being lightheaded isn't that big of a deal, I realize some of the villagers experience it all the time, but my son has never, not once in his life, had that happen to him." He explained his reasons. Gothi kept her back to him, but otherwise listened intently.

"Gothi, I'm worried those things that were on him might be the cause of this; I don't know how, it's just a feeling."

Gothi turned around and looked at him with a similar expression. She knew what he was feeling, and unfortunately she felt that he was correct.

* * *

The kids flew down into the Academy, just coming back from a training exercise. They were all exhausted and moaned from the unnecessary pain of Astrid's extreme ideas. They each hopped off of their saddles and began rubbing or stretching their aching muscles.

"That… was… horrible." Snotlout said out of breath.

"For once… I can agree with you." Fishlegs added.

"It wasn't too bad." Hiccup hesitated, trying to lighten up the mood for Astrid who was glaring at everyone but him.

"I know right, look at these scars!" Ruffnut exclaimed happily, lifting up her arm to show the claw marks that ran down her skin.

"Heh, if you think that's something, check out this scar." Tuffnut stated, lifting up his shirt and showing the three large claw marks on his back.

"I've got plenty more scars on my body, and in places I can't even show you." Ruffnut argued.

"Oh yeah, well I bet none of them are as great as this one!" Tuffnut fought back, showing the deep cut on his shoulder. "Look at it, see how deep it is?" he began rubbing it in. Ruffnut scowled at him and growled.

Hiccup shook his head at the two, not quite understanding why they had to act the way they did. Did they truly enjoy getting hurt?

All of the sudden, Hiccup's vision took a turn for the worse, its edges began to blacken and the world starting spinning. He clutched his head and closed his eyes, his ears ringing loudly in his head.

Astrid turned her attention away from the bickering twins and rolled her eyes. Then she looked over at Hiccup and her expression changed.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" she asked, unfolding her crossed arms and walking over to him. Her pace immediately quickened as soon as she watched him fall down.

"Hiccup!" Her concerned shout brought everyone's attention.

Hiccup fell down onto his back, the world spinning around him before jolting to a stop and spinning the over way before repeating again. It felt like he was looking at a broken record, except visually and not hearing it. He hadn't realized he was even on the ground until he saw Astrid spinning above him.

"Hiccup, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He heard her perfectly, but couldn't understand what she was saying.

He attempted to get back up, his hands clumsily grasping the cement. He managed to roll over onto his side and lift himself up before the world spun the other way and he lost his balance, trying to keep it in check with the motion; but everything kept moving, nothing would remain still.

"Come on, get up." Astrid ushered him, wrapping her arm around torso and bringing his arm around her shoulders. She stood up with him, but almost fell as he lost balance. Snotlout rushed over and took his other side, the two of them keeping him up so they could move.

"Come on, let's get him to Gothi's." she suggested.

* * *

The door opened again to announce the presence of Gothi's assistant, Gobber. Stoick had called for him to translate what Gothi was saying; feeling the conversation to be very important, he didn't want to waste any time.

"Good, you're here; quickly." Stoick said, steering him over to the dirt pile that displayed pictures and weird symbols written by Gothi.

"What's wrong?" Gobber asked as he waltz on over, taking a look down at the hieroglyphics. His brow furrowed as he read it.

"What do you mean Gothi?" he questioned, his voice now more concern than it was before.

"What, what did it say Gobber?" Stoick asked with urgency.

"She says, the vines give drugs that cause drowsiness, lightheadedness, dizziness, staggering, in-coordination, and falling. The medicine given to Hiccup did not cover a cure for these symptoms."

"The medicine was for the Banshee's venom." Stoick replied.

Gothi waved her finger and wrote in the sand again.

"She says, there wasn't any venom in his system when the medicine was giving. The vines themselves cure it and gave him the drugs."

"Wait, so you're saying my son could be experiencing these?" Stoick asked, fear ever growing on his face.

The door opened once more to the presence of Astrid and Snotlout both carrying a barely responsive Hiccup.

"I'd take that as a yes." Gobber stated the obvious.

"Stoick," Astrid called to her chief, an unnecessary action as Stoick was already rushing towards them.

"Hiccup, son," he called, taking the weight off of the teen's shoulders and scooping Hiccup up into his arms. "Can you hear me?" Hiccup's eyes darted back and forth, constantly closing and opening again. He heard his father, he knew what the words were, but he just couldn't understand the sentence. He moaned loudly and tried to bring his hand up to his head, but failed to do so.

Stoick brought him over to Gothi's bed, laying him down and standing beside him on his left. The rest of the teens filed into the house, staying by the door as to not get in the way. They watched with concern as Gothi and Gobber started to examine Hiccup.

He wouldn't stay still, even if he was lying down. He constantly tried to get up, but the world around him through his vision denied him it. His movements were sloppy and slow, but full of effort like that was all he could do.

Gothi approached him and opened his right eye to look at his pupils. He seemed to be looking at her, but his eyes kept darting left and right. She waved a hand at Gobber and Gobber proceeded with the examination.

"Hiccup, if you can hear me, point to where I am standing." Gobber stated, standing at the end of the bed. Hiccup's ears began ringing again, the loud noise coming and going like an annoying alarm. He sluggishly lifted his right pointer finger and pointed at Gobber, exactly where he was standing at the end of the bed. Then his finger moved to the left, pointing the empty space to Gobber's right.

Stoick furrowed his eyebrows, knowing for a fact that Gobber wasn't moving and standing still.

Hiccup's finger moved back over to where Gobber was actually standing and then shifted quickly back to the empty space beside the man. The motion continued, back and forth, back and forth, until he stopped and brought his hands up to clutch his head; the ringing in his ears increasing.

"That's not normal… right?" Snotlout questioned. Gothi brought a hand to her chin, deep in thought. Stoick kneeled down beside his son, his large hand resting on his son's torso as he tried to get back up again.

"Hiccup, you need to rest; you can't stand." He said softly, gently pushing him back down on the bed. Another moaned escaped him and he turned over to his side, facing his father and away from the door and his friends. He closed his eyes and kept them shut, his hands coming up to shield them so that he wouldn't see all of the movement. They quickly left and grasped the side of the bed, lifting himself back into a sitting position.

Stoick was about to lay him back down when he noticed Hiccup's pale face and his shaking hands. His stomach began to convulse and a gagging sound came from within his throat.

"Gobber, get a bucket!" he ordered his friend, who quickly got one, gave it to Stoick and watched as his friend place it in front of Hiccup who immediately afterwards empty all of his stomach contents inside.

Gobber turned away and looked at the teens by the door.

"I think it would be best for you guys to leave." He said as politely as possible. Astrid and the others looked remorsefully at Hiccup before they solemnly walked out of the house and closed the door behind them.

* * *

**To be continued…**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk**

**A Banished Beast**

**Chapter 24**

* * *

A special mixture was given to Hiccup to help with the erratic symptoms that he was experiencing. A cold wash cloth was placed over his eyes, the cool temperature strangely soothing him and the darkness helping so that he couldn't see the world spin out of control, although he could still feel it. His father's voice kept talking to him, keeping him awake so that they could know what was going on and if anything was improving. And it seemed to as Hiccup was now able to talk again, low and weak, but still talking.

"Does anything hurt?" Stoick asked in a soft, fatherly voice.

"I don't know," Hiccup whispered in replied; "it's numb."

"What's numb?" Stoick asked.

"My arms and legs." Hiccup replied, his voice still weak.

"Is it just your limbs?" Stoick continued to question.

"Yeah," Hiccup answered. "Where's Toothless?" he changed the subject, mainly because he wanted to see his friend.

Stoick looked up at Gobber, who nodded and headed for the door.

Said dragon was lying outside the house, curled up by the door as he tried to listen to what was going on inside. Right now it was quiet; that is until he heard the door open. His head perked up as he looked at the Viking blacksmith.

"Come on dragon, you're needed." Gobber said, waving Toothless inside. Said Night Fury took no time rushing in. He slowed to a walk as he trotted up to the bed, his rider lying on his back with something over his eyes. He cooed as he sat down beside him, bowing his head so that it was just a few inches from the bedside.

Hiccup didn't need to see to know his friend was there; lifting up a weak, numb hand and placing it limply on Toothless' forehead.

There wasn't much strength in the touch, the boy's hand acted as if it frozen, but feeling really hot. The intimate connection between rider and dragon only lasted for a second as his arm fell and his hand slid away from the Night Fury.

Toothless cooed again, a sorrowful look on his face as he gently nudged Hiccup's head. The boy reached his left arm up with much strength and slipped the cloth off of his eyes. They blinked and squinted from his irregular vision as Hiccup looked up at his friend.

"Don't worry Toothless, I'll be fine." He said with a soft calm voice. His eyes closed tight, the dizziness coming back to him from his vision. Stoick placed the cloth back over his eyes and patted Toothless on the head.

Gobber smiled at the two before turning to Gothi behind him.

"How's it coming?" he asked, ready to help the older women in any way he could. Gothi tapped the wooden spoon against the bowl, the mixture getting its final property. She turned around and held up two, pointer and middle, touching fingers. No one else couldn't have known what she meant by that sign besides Gobber, and he smiled at the good news.

Hopefully the nightmare would be over soon. But then again, they still have no idea where that Banshee is…

* * *

Claws hooked themselves onto the stone, the beast itself lying against the rock upside down. It cranked it neck looking at the village just below it. Its eyes narrowed, looking up at the sun that shined brightly. With a single jump, it leaped off of the rock and glided down behind a house, landing softly as to not attract any attention… yet.

It was going to find its prey, the hard way this time. And the hard way was the fun way.

The beast peeked from behind the edge of the building; a few Vikings passing by the gap unaware of its presence. Growling, now making that fact untrue, it began to sneak towards the opening.

A few guys stopped in their tracks, setting down their barrels of fish and peeking into the gap, hearing the growl and thinking it to be one of their dragons. Well, it was a dragon…

The Banshee dashed out, the men screaming and falling down, nearly missing the beast's very sharp talons. And again, after running away, one barely dodged the dragon's jaws. The commotion had caught the attention of the other Berkians on the street. And with the attention, the Banshee roared; his voice being replied by the Viking's screams and shouts of terror.

Yup, this was going to be fun…

* * *

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" Fishlegs asked, him and his friends sitting around the crank system of the catapult for one of the defense towers.

"I'm sure he is," Astrid hesitated to say. "I—It's probably just a side effect…" she finalized some ideas. "Or, it's just one of those twenty-four-hour bugs."

"Wait, I thought this was because of the Banshee?" Tuffnut asked, putting his left arm down upon his knee.

"It _is_ because of the Banshee you mutton heads." Snotlout retorted. He was sitting beside Astrid who was sitting beside Fishlegs, the twins sitting across from the three.

"Ha, I was right!" Tuffnut exclaimed, his sister slapping her hand against her forehead.

"Do we even know where that thing is?" Fishlegs asked. "What if it comes back and tries to kill Hiccup?!" he began to fret.

"Are you crazy?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, that thing wouldn't start its reign of terror by trying to kill Hiccup." Tuffnut added before his sister continued; the two of them taking turns.

"Exactly, it would first terrorize the village,"

"Then take on our dragons to show 'em who's boss;"

"And _then_ it'd go after Hiccup, feed on him and probably kill him." Ruffnut finished.

Tuffnut stood up, "I mean, come on, if my food kept running away from _me_ and I was starving, I wouldn't care if it was the most delicious thing in the world, I'd eat all of it;" he stated before slumping back down in his seat, "But then regret it later on when I was hungry for it again."

Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs stared at the two twins for at least a minute, not knowing what to think or say about their… ideas.

Suddenly, screams from the town behind them caught all of their attention; the sounds being both from Vikings and dragons, and another they all recognized in a heartbeat… the Banshee.

Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs turned around slowly to look at the twins with shock; the twins looked equally amazed.

"I call 'em as I see 'em?" Tuffnut said, not entirely sure if it was the best thing to announce at a time like this.

The dragons roared at the intruder within the village; spreading out their wings they flew off towards the houses, leaving the teens back at the tower.

"Stormfly!"

"Hookfang, come back!"

"Meatlug, wait!"

Tuff looked down at Ruff, "Ah man, we're too good for our own good. Wait, what?"

"Come on! We have to catch them!" Astrid ushered, the lot of them running down the tower and across the docks with haste to get to the village.

* * *

The scream of the Banshee echoed throughout Berk, reaching Gothi's place and startling its residents. Gothi and Gobber had stopped what they were doing once they heard the roar; Stoick stiffened and Hiccup gasped, sitting up and immediately taking off the rag on his eyes. His vision was better now, the dizziness subsiding a little while ago. He looked at his father with fear as the memories of being with the Banshee flooded his mind.

Stoick furrowed his eyes and stood up before proceeding over to the door. Toothless had been staring at the door with daggers, his ears down against his head and his eyes open to slits.

Stoick turned around and pointed a finger at Hiccup, "Watch him, don't let him out of your sights." He said to Gobber. Gobber nodded in response.

"Stay here, Hiccup." He said to his son, but his request was nothing more than a fatherly order. Hiccup just looked at him with the same expression, fear. His gaze fell down to the floor before Hiccup got out of bed and sat down beside Toothless.

Right now, it was safest place for him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Alright, so sorry for the wait guys, I would have updated yesterday, but the site had some issues. I also had some issues with my modem and router… stupid tech.**

**I thank you all for the continuing readers and the support! The story's almost done so hold onto your butts!**


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